Staff Augmentation vs. Outsourcing a Dedicated Team: Which One to Choose

Now and again, corporations find themselves needing additional resources to complete a large project or cover a void in their workforce. Firms have a variety of approaches for closing skill gaps and avoiding burdening the rest of their workforce with tasks for which they are not well trained. 

This article compares two of the most common: staff augmentation and outsourcing. The IT sector is seeing a rise in the use of both formats. What’s the best option for you? Even though people often confuse them, they are two quite distinct automobiles. Staff augmentation vs. project outsourcing are both viable options, but they differ greatly in their pros and downsides. 

Once you’ve weighed the advantages and disadvantages of each model, you should be able to decide which one is ideal for your firm. 

What is Staff Augmentation?

Using a software development business to supplement your present staff is called “staff augmentation,” and it’s a common outsourcing technique. As a virtual extension of your in-house technical staff, outsourced developers are there when you need them. The term “team expansion” is frequently used to describe staff augmentation. 

According to a typical time and materials business model, IT employee costs vary widely based on project scope and workload. Fixed-price business models need a well-defined project scope and a predetermined budget. 

It’s important to keep in mind that even if you choose traditional in-house recruiting to expand your team, you’ll still need to recruit and retain fresh tech talent. It’s a non-issue for dedicated groups. 

Benefits of Staff Augmentation 

• Cost-efficiency.

As a result of IT staff augmentation, the expenses of hiring and onboarding new employees and full-time salaries and benefits can be reduced. Consequently, you just pay for the time spent on your project, which saves you money both now and in the future. 

• They may bring specialists on board quickly.

Experts in the IT field are in limited supply, according to a survey by Harvey Nash and KPMG. As a result, it might be difficult to locate an expert in your region. Your company can tap into a talent pool of IT experts with the knowledge and training necessary to help you complete your IT tasks. 

• Temporary work.

You can engage external teams in various ways with the help of IT staff augmentation. It implies that you may scale up your IT team when you need it most and scale down when it is no longer needed. Resource augmentation can be used, for example, for a specific project or to enhance your in-house crew during pick loads. One can terminate staff augmentation contracts far more easily than in-house employees can be laid off or even fired. 

• It is controlled from within.

With staff augmentation, your in-house team will be augmented by an external team. They report directly to your supervisors and adhere to the company’s own rules and regulations. In another way, managers and team leaders will have to think about where and when they need to recruit IT expertise. 

Drawbacks 

• The skill to manage

When bringing in an outside team, your company’s management must be prepared to handle more personnel, give more direction, and more. 

• Additional instruction and instruction in the practice

Even if an external team acquires your IT talents, your managers will still be required to explain your company’s internal regulations and procedures. Adding a new team member necessitates the allocation of time for the newcomers to master the procedures and norms of the firm. 

WHAT DOES OUTSOURCING A DEDICATED TEAM MEAN?

You can hire a dedicated team by outsourcing the job to a small company with a team of programmers. 

Software-related services, including analysis and design, user experience design, quality assurance, project planning or support and maintenance, are often included in a much larger partnership than simply a simple team augmentation. 

As a result, the vendor has more incentive to provide superior results than it would with employee augmentation. 

As a result, the software firm is more like a long-term business partner than merely a temporary service provider. 

Key Benefits to Outsourcing

• Cutbacks in expenditures. 

You don’t have to spend money on employee recruitment, onboarding, and training, nor do you worry about their compensation or bonuses when you outsource your IT development projects. In-house employment costs might be greatly reduced as a result of this. 

• A fast-tracked project launch.

It might take a long for internal teams to get a project off the ground. The project may need further training, the hire of certain professionals, or the purchase of specific equipment. On the other hand, project outsourcing entails the entire development process, from the creation of the documentation through the release and maintenance of the product. 

• Setting up the technical and managerial aspects.

It is unnecessary to locate an additional room to set up workstations for the new staff or purchase licensed software or hardware when you outsource your tasks. It’s also important to note that IT outsourcing businesses take care of staff selection and training. The outcome is an all-inclusive crew at a predetermined charge. 

• There are fewer hazards. 

Project results are the responsibility of IT outsourcing businesses, which supply highly competent individuals who accept the risk. Thus, they are willing to take on the risks of developing your digital solution. 

• Getting rid of a staff member from within the organization.

With IT project outsourcing, you can free up your in-house staff to work on more strategic aspects of your company. Your managers will be able to devote more time to initiatives that fit your company’s area of competence. 

Disadvantages of a dedicated team:

Here are the scenarios in which a specialized team model should not be used. 

• Small and medium-sized projects cannot use this. 

There is no need for a lot of effort from your team members if you’re working on a modest project. To operate with a Fixed-price or Time and Material model, you need a well-defined scope. 

• Constraints of both time and money. 

A dedicated team approach is not a good fit for projects with well-specified time and cost parameters. There are times when you don’t require a full-time team. If that’s the case, a fixed-price model is the best option. 

Differences Between Staff Augmentation Vs Dedicated Team

Despite the similarity between these models, one can’t interchange them. You should hire a specialist software development team if your organisation doesn’t have in-house tech experts or is looking to take on an entirely new project. The same holds for more complicated projects that incorporate sub-projects. Staff augmentation will not be enough to deal with them. 

However, staff augmentation is a great way to bring in missing professionals to an already underway project. An increase in the need for fresh software development specialists might be life-or-death in some situations. Finding a qualified professional with relevant expertise may be time-consuming and expensive. The specialists or recruiting department pool is common in software development businesses. When the number of people devoted to the project is excessive, this model might be used. 

Final Thoughts – which of the two methods you should choose?

Though the two concepts are quite similar, staff augmentation and outsourcing are not the same. 

A dedicated team might be the greatest option for your organization if you require a full team to work on a new project. On the other hand, if you need to quickly cover a vacancy in your workforce, you should opt for staff augmentation. 

Staff augmentation versus outsourcing — it’s a difficult decision. Choosing the correct model for your firm and the people you want to hire is critical.