RTO refers to the amount of time needed to recover from a disaster after a business disruption is identified. RPO, on the other hand, defines the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time. Understanding these objectives helps prioritize which workloads are critical to your organization.

It's important to create a comprehensive list of all teams involved in disaster recovery, including their roles and contact information. Establishing a clear chain of command, which includes relevant executive leadership and accountable individuals from various engineering teams, ensures that everyone is informed and can respond effectively.

Regular testing of your disaster recovery plan is crucial as it helps validate whether your DR solution is adequate. These drills not only prepare your engineers and support teams to respond quickly and accurately but also highlight any areas that may need improvement based on past test outcomes.