// definition
RTO
Recovery Time Objective
Short definition
The maximum time an IT resource is intended to remain unavailable before the impact on other resources or business processes becomes unacceptable. This planning target normally leaves room within tolerable business downtime for necessary data reprocessing. An achieved recovery time depends on the scope and scenario of the test.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Related analyses
Primary sources
- NIST SP 800-34 Rev. 1, May 2010, updated November 2010Section 3.2.1, printed pages 17–18: definitions and the relationship between recovery targets and tolerable downtime.