RTO and RPO explained for SMB
RPO is how much data you can afford to lose, RTO is how quickly you need to be running again. Both are commitments to yourself, not laws of physics. For most SMBs an RPO of 24 hours and RTO of 8 hours is a reasonable starting point.
Try this first
- 1RPO: time between last backup and disaster moment. A daily backup at 22:00 = RPO of up to 24 hours. Are you ok with that? For most SMBs yes, for transaction-heavy firms no.
- 2RTO: time between disaster and being-back-online. Server taken hostage yesterday, back up tomorrow night? Thats RTO 24-36 hours. Too slow for some sectors, fine for others.
- 3Before setting targets: list your four most critical systems (mail, accounting, file server, customer portal). Per system, decide how much downtime is acceptable. RTO and RPO emerge from that conversation.
- 4Lower RTO and RPO costs more. Continuous replication with sub-minute RPO costs far more than daily backup. Match targets to risk tolerance, not to a vendor pitch.
When to bring us in
RTO/RPO workshop with your leadership team in 90 minutes. Output is a priority list that the backup architecture hangs on.
See also
- We have backups but we do not know if they workA backup that cannot be restored is not a backup. Testing matters as much as taking the backup.
- Suspected ransomware: what to do RIGHT NOWThe first 30 minutes are critical. One wrong move spreads the damage. Read before acting.
- Someone accidentally deleted an important folderUsually fine to recover. The trick: do not save anything new on that drive until you know how.
None of the above fits?
Describe your situation below. We pass your input plus the steps you already saw to our AI and return tailored next-step advice. If it's too risky to DIY, we'll say so.
Or skip the DIY entirely
Our Managed IT clients do not look these things up. One point of contact, a fixed monthly price, resolved within working hours.