Business Continuity Definitions
Essential terms and concepts for business continuity and disaster recovery
RPO (Recovery Point Objective)
Definition
The maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time. RPO defines how much data you can afford to lose in the event of a disaster.
Example
An RPO of 1 hour means you can lose at most 1 hour worth of data.
Why It Matters
Critical for backup frequency planning and storage requirements.
RTO (Recovery Time Objective)
Definition
The maximum acceptable amount of time for restoring a business function after a disaster occurs.
Example
An RTO of 4 hours means your systems must be restored within 4 hours.
Why It Matters
Determines infrastructure requirements and recovery procedures.
BCP (Business Continuity Plan)
Definition
A comprehensive plan that outlines how an organisation will continue operating during an unplanned disruption of service.
Example
Procedures for maintaining operations during a data centre outage.
Why It Matters
Ensures business operations can continue with minimal disruption.
DR (Disaster Recovery)
Definition
The process of restoring access and functionality to IT infrastructure after events like natural disasters, cyber attacks, or equipment failures.
Example
Restoring email services after a server failure using backup systems.
Why It Matters
Minimizes downtime and data loss during crisis situations.
HA (High Availability)
Definition
A system design approach that ensures a certain level of operational performance, usually uptime, for a higher than normal period.
Example
99.99% uptime means less than 53 minutes of downtime per year.
Why It Matters
Reduces planned and unplanned downtime through redundancy.
Run Book
Definition
A detailed document that provides step-by-step procedures for routine operations, maintenance, and emergency response.
Example
Step-by-step instructions for restarting a failed database server.
Why It Matters
Ensures consistent execution of procedures and faster problem resolution.
Audit Log
Definition
A chronological record of all activities and events within a system, providing accountability and traceability.
Example
Recording all user logins, file access, and system changes with timestamps.
Why It Matters
Essential for security monitoring, compliance, and forensic analysis.