How long can your business survive without access to critical company applications and files that run daily operations? What do you do if your accounting system files become corrupt? In acronym form, the amount of time your business can survive without access to this crucial information is referred to as your Recovery Time Objective (RTO).
In our daily lives, we accept different levels of RTO. As a consultant, I spend a great deal of time in my car everyday traveling between client sites. On more than one occasion, I’ve started my day off in Mandeville, made the trip to Ponchatoula, followed by a stop Uptown, to finally wrap up my day in Slidell and then drive back home to Covington. If I was without a vehicle for any length of time, I would miss scheduled appointments, be unable to drive across town at a moment’s notice, and probably lose a client or two along the way. With all that being said, I employ a number of different measures to ensure I’m never without a vehicle for even a day. From my AAA membership, to rental insurance and even regular oil changes and tire rotations, I do my best to minimize my RTO and stave off any chance of being without my vehicle. The same should be true for the IT infrastructure that runs today’s businesses.
Can you answer “Yes” to any of these questions?
- Do you know where your critical data resides?
- Have you tested your backup and restore procedures for accuracy and availability?
- Do you have a true disaster recovery plan that spells out your RTOs for every process in your business?
While answers to these questions can seem daunting, the days of relying solely on tape backup are behind us. From cloud based backup systems to fully redundant disaster recovery appliances, there’s a shoe that fits every RTO.
If this article sparked a question or created cause for concern in your business, please reach out to us (info@bridgenetllc.com).
Bo Jakins, Managing Partner