Which metric defines the point prior to an outage at which data must be restored?

The metric that defines the point prior to an outage at which data must be restored is the Recovery Point Objective (RPO). This metric specifically focuses on the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time. It indicates the last point in time at which data must be saved and is used to plan backup and recovery strategies.

In practice, if an outage occurs, the RPO informs organizations how much data they can afford to lose and at what point they need to restore data to ensure continuity of operations. For example, if the RPO is set to four hours, it means that in the event of a disruption, the organization should be able to recover data from no later than four hours before the outage.

Understanding RPO is crucial for effective data backup solutions and risk management, as it directly influences how often data backups should occur and the strategies for data recovery following an outage.