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Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

Recovery time objective (RTO) is a term used to define the maximum timespan that a computer system, network, or program can be out of service after a system failure or disaster. To calculate a businessʻs RTO, IT administrators must identify which systems and programs within their organization are vital to keep daily operations up and running. RTOs help businesses determine how long their systems, networks, or programs can be down before negatively impacting an organizationʻs business operations.

What Small and Midsize Businesses Need to Know About Recovery Time Objective (RTO)

Small and midsize companies typically work with their IT administration team to create a disaster recovery plan (DRP). This plan serves as a guide for what to do if they happen to experience system, network, or program failures or if a disaster occurs. RTO is an important aspect of a DRP because it provides IT administrators with insight as to how much time they have to get an organizationʻs systems technical machinery back up and running before operational consequences occur.

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