| RTO deals with the how promptly an application | | | | Making these choices and being aware of the |
| has to be back up and running after a failure, | | | | impact of application downtime will help you to |
| while RPO deals with the amount of data that can | | | | ascertain which applications rely on the most |
| be lost. RTO and RPO can also be described in | | | | attention. Establishing which applications demand |
| terms of money. That is, how long can you | | | | the most demanding RTO and RPO is the initial |
| afford to be down and the amount of data can | | | | step in deciding what type of solution and |
| you afford to lose. When described in monetary | | | | architecture will work best for your organization. |
| terms, it becomes quite clear as to where the | | | | |
| focus needs to be. | | | | Over the years, a vast array of point products |
| | | | | has been developed to solve the particular |
| There are numerous solutions that provide data | | | | availability problems of the time. Whilst there has |
| RPO in the seconds range. However, by | | | | always been the necessity for a solution to bring |
| comparison, there are surprisingly few solutions | | | | applications back online quickly after a failure, with |
| that can also provide the same, for application | | | | as little loss as achievable, finding a complete |
| RTO. Neverfail is one of the select few, to have | | | | solution to the matter has remained elusive. |
| developed the vital technologies required to deliver | | | | However, more recent technology advances (in |
| a solution that delivers application RTO and RPO in | | | | replication, clustering, e duplication etc.) mean that |
| the near zero range, quickly getting rid of | | | | is now feasible to move away from the |
| application downtime. | | | | conventional Recovery Centric approach to |
| | | | | clearing up the situation, towards a more |
| So, how do you know which applications are the | | | | Availability Centric approach. |
| most important? | | | | |
| | | | | Even though decisions have been made with |
| Which require RTO/RPO in the near zero | | | | regard to the criticality of applications in an |
| timeframe? | | | | environment, there is still an overriding fact that |
| | | | | cannot be excluded, application downtime is |
| The solutions to such enquiries are actually pretty | | | | intolerable for many application owners, users, |
| simple. Which applications create the most help | | | | customers and management. Given this, it seems |
| desk calls when they are unavailable? Which | | | | like ensuring the application is adequately |
| applications, when unavailable, create the | | | | protected and monitored, so that a pre emptive |
| organization to lose money, or productivity, or | | | | action can be taken to deal with a problem before |
| customer assurance? | | | | it becomes an issue, is key. |
| | | | | |