Define recovery objectives for downtime and data loss

Defining recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) is essential for aligning DR strategies with business needs. These objectives help determine how quickly services can be restored and what data loss is acceptable, thereby guiding resource allocation and DR planning.

Best Practices

Define Clear Recovery Objectives

• Establish Recovery Time Objectives (RTO) based on business needs to define how quickly you must restore operations after a disruption.
• Determine Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) to specify how much data loss is acceptable measured in time.
• Engage stakeholders across the organization to ensure objectives align with business priorities.
• Document RTO and RPO in your disaster recovery plan for clarity and consistency.
• Regularly review and update RTO and RPO parameters to adapt to changing business requirements.

Questions to ask your team

• Have you established clear recovery time objectives (RTO) and recovery point objectives (RPO) that align with business requirements?
• Are the RTO and RPO documented and communicated to relevant stakeholders?
• Do you regularly review and update your RTO and RPO based on changes in business needs or risks?
• Have you implemented monitoring to ensure that your actual recovery efforts meet the defined RTO and RPO?
• Have you tested your disaster recovery plan to verify that you can meet the RTO and RPO?
• Do you have a specific location or strategy for off-site backups to ensure data availability in case of a disaster?
• Have you considered the costs associated with achieving your RTO and RPO, and how they impact your overall budget?
• Are there redundancy strategies in place for critical components of your workload to reduce recovery times?

Who should be doing this?

Disaster Recovery Coordinator

• Define and document the recovery time objective (RTO) and recovery point objective (RPO) for each workload.
• Ensure alignment of RTO and RPO with business needs and stakeholder expectations.
• Regularly review and update disaster recovery plans to reflect changes in business operations and technology.
• Coordinate disaster recovery tests to validate the effectiveness of the DR strategy and refine it as necessary.

Infrastructure Manager

• Implement redundant infrastructure components to support defined RTO and RPO.
• Monitor performance and availability of resources used for disaster recovery.
• Collaborate with the Disaster Recovery Coordinator to ensure infrastructure meets recovery objectives.
• Ensure proper documentation of infrastructure setup for DR scenarios.

Data Backup Specialist

• Establish and maintain backup protocols to meet RPO requirements.
• Regularly test backup integrity and restoration procedures to ensure data can be recovered as needed.
• Work with the Disaster Recovery Coordinator to align backup strategies with overall DR objectives.
• Document backup schedules and maintain versioning for compliance purposes.

Business Continuity Planner

• Identify key business functions and associated recovery requirements.
• Conduct impact analyses to inform RTO and RPO definitions based on business-critical operations.
• Engage with stakeholders to communicate recovery strategies and expectations.
• Update business continuity plans in collaboration with IT and Disaster Recovery teams.

Compliance Officer

• Ensure the disaster recovery strategy adheres to relevant regulatory and compliance standards.
• Review and audit DR plans to confirm alignment with industry best practices.
• Maintain documentation for compliance reporting and audits related to disaster recovery efforts.

What evidence shows this is happening in your organization?

• Disaster Recovery Plan Template: A comprehensive template to outline the disaster recovery strategy, including RTO and RPO objectives tailored to the organization’s business needs.
• RTO and RPO Configuration Checklist: A detailed checklist to ensure all critical workload components have defined RTO and RPO values based on data importance and business continuity requirements.
• Disaster Recovery Strategy Guide: A guide that covers best practices in developing a disaster recovery plan, addressing recovery objectives and strategies for locations and workload resources.
• Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Report: A report that assesses the potential impact of disruptions on business operations, helping to determine appropriate RTO and RPO levels for each workload.
• DR Drill Playbook: A playbook for conducting disaster recovery drills, including step-by-step instructions to validate RTO and RPO objectives and ensure readiness.
• Cost-Benefit Analysis Matrix: A matrix that evaluates the costs of recovery strategies against the potential impact of downtime, helping to inform disaster recovery decisions.

Cloud Services

AWS

• AWS Backup: Automates backup across AWS services, allowing you to define backup plans to meet your RTO and RPO.
• Amazon RDS: Provides automated backups and multi-AZ deployments to enhance database reliability and facilitate recovery objectives.
• AWS Elastic Disaster Recovery: Simplifies the recovery of applications in another region, supporting your disaster recovery objectives.

Azure

• Azure Site Recovery: Enables disaster recovery for virtual machines, helping you to meet defined RTO and RPO by orchestrating failover.
• Azure Backup: Provides a reliable and secure backup solution that you can manage to ensure your data can be recovered according to set objectives.
• Azure Blob Storage: Offers a scalable storage solution for backups that can play a critical role in achieving your RPO.

Google Cloud Platform

• Cloud Storage: Provides durable and highly available storage for data backups, helping to establish your data recovery strategy.
• Google Cloud Disaster Recovery: Offers tools and templates for setting up disaster recovery plans to ensure business continuity.
• Compute Engine Snapshots: Enables you to take snapshots of your instances for easy restoration, aiding in achieving your RTO and RPO objectives.