For years, snapshots have been the go-to disaster recovery method for many organizations: simple, fast, and cost-effective. They capture the system state at fixed intervals, which works well for periodic backups but leaves gaps between restore points. As data volumes grow and business continuity requirements tighten, the limitations of snapshots in terms of RPO (Recovery Point Objective) and RTO (Recovery Time Objective) become increasingly apparent.
Continuous Data Protection (CDP) addresses these gaps by recording changes as they happen. It can reduce RPO to seconds or near zero and enable granular, point-in-time recovery—even rolling back to a moment just before a ransomware attack or accidental deletion. Compared with snapshots, CDP functions like a “time machine,” offering much finer restore options and minimizing data loss during unexpected disruptions.
When designing a disaster recovery strategy, organizations can benefit from combining both technologies. Deploy CDP on mission-critical systems where downtime or data loss is unacceptable, and continue to use snapshots for less critical workloads to control costs. This blended approach strengthens overall resilience, optimizes storage use, and ensures recovery capabilities align with business priorities.
