The acronym RPO stands for Recovery Point Objective, which is a critical concept in data recovery. It defines the maximum acceptable amount of data loss measured in time during a disaster. Specifically, RPO indicates how frequently data should be backed up to minimize potential data loss. For instance, if a business has an RPO of one hour, it means data must be backed up at least every hour to ensure that, in case of failure, they do not lose more than one hour's worth of information. This parameter helps organizations establish effective backup and recovery strategies.