Editing IT disaster recovery (section)

=== Recovery Point Objective ===
A '''Recovery Point Objective (RPO)''' is the maximum acceptable interval during which [[transactional data]] is lost from an IT service.<ref name=druva/>

For example, if RPO is measured in minutes, then in practice, off-site mirrored backups must be [[Continuous data protection|continuously maintained]] as a daily off-site backup will not suffice.<ref>{{cite web 
   |author=Richard May |title=Finding RPO and RTO
   |url=http://www.virtualdcs.co.uk/blog/business-continuity-planning-rpo-and-rto.html|url-status=dead
   |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303224604/http://www.virtualdcs.co.uk/blog/business-continuity-planning-rpo-and-rto.html|archive-date=2016-03-03}}</ref>

====Relationship to RTO====
A recovery that is not instantaneous restores transactional data over some interval without incurring significant risks or losses.<ref name=druva/>

RPO measures the maximum time in which recent data might have been permanently lost and not a direct measure of loss quantity. For instance, if the BC plan is to restore up to the last available backup, then the RPO is the interval between such backups.

RPO is not determined by the existing backup regime. Instead BIA determines RPO for each service. When off-site data is required, the period during which data might be lost may start when backups are prepared, not when the backups are secured off-site.<ref name=TTdiff/>