If you have realized that  your small business IT is a V.U.C.A. environment, then you may wonder why do I care? Lots of things change around us all the time. So why does it matter with IT?

There are many reasons that V.U.C.A. in a IT needs to be mitigated when possible. V.U.C.A. in your IT environment can lead to things such as:

• Increased system outages
• Lost data
• Security risks and breaches
• Lost revenue
• Increased costs
• Diminishes efficiencies
• Customer service troubles

to name just a few.

These are bad. No one wants any of them. So a natural question is:

What can I do to reduce the V.U.C.A.?

Here are some simple ways to help deal with the V.U.C.A. in your environment:

Volatility

• Monitoring – use monitoring tools in your IT environment. You can monitor for intrusions and security risks, viruses, malware and operational thresholds. Open source software such as Icinga allows you to create custom monitoring scenarios and report on many different system variables. A well architected monitoring system is like having extra IT staff working 24 hrs / day 7 days a week.
• Redundancy – The most important parts of your IT system should have redundancy. Simple things such as mirrored hard drives on a key server, multiple disparate backups and .
• Contingency – The building where we office now has had many power issues in the last few years. Having a contingency to run our services elsewhere is a huge help for us. Think about if you lost a key server, or your phone system went down. How could you continue serving customers until the problem is resolved?  If possible you want the ability to run key applications offsite if a severe problem exists.
• Margin – Leave yourself operating room. Don’t run servers at 95% load all the time. Give them plenty of memory, stay out of swap. Don’t allow key server hard drives to always be near full. Have some spare equipment. If you are taxing your internet bandwidth constantly get some spare bandwidth. Having some excess capacity in these areas can reduce risk.

Uncertainty

• Focus on what you can control – Take care of maintenance items. Update patches, install security updates, monitor hardware, check access logs. Verify backups. If you make simple maintenance tasks like this part of your regular routine you will be better prepared for the inevitable surprises.
• Prepare – Have some key spare parts. Make sure your hardware warranties are up-to-date and your equipment is still serviceable. Have the contact details for each supplier and vender available and documented for your team in case of emergencies. Create an escalation procedure for increasing the scope of notifications when problems arise.
• Learn – when things out of the ordinary happen take time for an ‘after action review’ with your team. What can you learn to prepare for or avoid the problem the next time it might happen. Update your procedures and operating practices to include any new thing you learn.

Complexity

• Pictures and diagrams – Draw out how your systems are connected and configured. Where is key equipment located? Who are the assigned people responsible for each area? Are the vendor contacts included? How would someone get access to systems if assigned personnel were not available? Simple pictures and diagrams updated regularly and distributed to the team and can help you deal with crisis much faster and more clearly.
• Online Notes/Wiki on company intra-net – provide a convenient, accessible location that everyone knows about to document and notate your key data. You should be able to ask anyone in your company and they would know where that is.
• Labels – Label cables, computers, routers, cabinets and other devices. Labels help with inventory and provide quick verification you are working on the right equipment.
• Screen casts – For multistep instructions you can record screen casts and save them to your online notes  / Wiki area. For configurations or setups where a number of online steps are involved a quick screen cast can communicate very effectively what it takes pages and pages to write.

Ambiguity

• Modeling – When possible use simple models to illustrate functionality. Sometimes this can be done with maps, drawings or, where numbers are involved, with spreadsheets. Simple, clear models help clarify concepts and communicate more clearly abstract ideas,
• Iteration – When building new systems or adding functionality break down big features into smaller iterations. Smaller iterations, allow you to engage key stakeholders throughout the process, keeping everyone closer to the same page. Iteration is one of the foundational ideas of Agile development. It applies very nicely to a wide range of system domains. Use iteration to fight ambiguity.

None of these ideas are revolutionary or difficult. They are all well within the capability and resources of small business. And they all will help you better deal with a V.U.C.A. environment.