IT staff augmentation vs dedicated team

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IT staff augmentation or outsourcing to a dedicated team? What is the better option for my business? Which one has the hiring strategy best for my business? What are the benefits and disadvantages of IT staff augmentation & dedicated teams?

IT staff augmentation vs dedicated team

IT staff augmentation vs dedicated teams are both suitable options. In order to complete software development projects faster.

Staff augmentation is a type of outsourcing program using temporary employees to fill vacancies. Whereas, in project outsourcing or hiring a dedicated team, they offer the preferred solution and do all the work. They do not use your internal resources.

Team augmentation provides you with more employees to complete complex projects internally. While the dedicated team model enables you to partner with a software development company to do the project for you.

This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the differences between IT staff augmentation vs dedicated team models. Let’s explore more of it below.

What does it mean to use IT staff augmentation services?

Select staff enhancement if you are a company that possesses existing software development teams. By using outside staffing you can:

  • fill an existing skill gap
  • gain a more productive outcome
  • complete your project by the deadline naturally

When you use 👉 IT staff augmentation services 👈 your organization gains access to a pool of highly skilled professionals. You can add them to your team without having to hire permanent employees.

With the help of Swyply, you can access experienced and qualified professionals. Experts who can quickly and effectively deliver results for specific projects. This helps your company quickly complete projects or tasks that may have required more manpower than you currently have on hand. Plus it gives your internal team a much-needed boost to get to the finish line.

Why is this hiring model so attractive in the IT industry

The staff augmentation model is an attractive method for hiring new software developers for a few reasons:

  1. You can gain pre-vetted tech talent to fill your staffing shortage
  2. You do not have to pay to keep someone on the bench
  3. You only pay for the developers and services you need
  4. You gain the flexibility you need in a dynamically changing business environment
  5. This model is great for short-term projects and long-term projects
  6. The development process happens internally. So you keep all processes and procedures for future reference

There are just some reasons why this collaboration model is so popular among even big tech giants.

How does outsourcing to a dedicated software development team work?

Dedicated teams are an IT Outsourced Model. This is where a company provides you with a software development team who will work from afar. They will focus entirely on your product or business. Outsourcing developers are selected by hand according to your needs and can also be managed by you.

A dedicated team does not use your internal resource to carry out the project. They do not need your internal team to help with the project. In some cases, they do not need you to cover the cost of programs associated with completing the outsourced project.

Using an outsourcing company, you will only get involved when it comes to making major decisions. Or when you need to communicate with your customer about a project that is being carried out by a third-party company.

Dedicated team of colleagues working at office in relaxed atmosphere

IT staff augmentation vs. outsourcing to a dedicated team

Let us compare IT staff augmentation vs the dedicated team model. We are going to break down the roles and responsibilities of each staffing provider. Another thing we will go over is the cost differences between the two models.

We will also look into what are the costs associated with hiring an outsourced team. Or the costs associated with hiring skilled software developers via staff augmentation. Another factor worth comparing is the working structure. And lastly, we compare everything associated with project management.

Role & responsibilities of Dedicated team vs IT staff augmentation

Let’s break down the roles and responsibilities covered by a dedicated team vs. augmented staff.

The recruitment, onboarding, and employment of dedicated software developers belong to the vendor. So these tasks are the responsibility of the outsourcing vendor along with the staff augmentation vendor. Regardless of the model you choose, the hiring process is no longer your responsibility.

Dedicated team model

Dedicated development teams will take on the full project scope without your internal engineering team. This model is comparable to hiring a software development company to complete a project and paying for that service. You are not involved and your in-house staff can focus on core business goals.

Staff augmentation model

But when you use staff augmentation as a team extension model you add programmers to your team. These IT professionals work remotely with your team on the project. Your in-house project manager assigns them tasks and manages their time.

This model also gives a lot of flexibility because with staff augmentation you can add or remove team members as your project requires. Also, you can switch developers if something is not the right fit or perhaps changes internally.

Cost of hiring augmented staff vs direct hires

The cost of using the staff augmentation model vs outsourcing models will vary from company to company. Also, these costs may be bigger or smaller depending on the size and complexity of your project.

But, let’s dive into what you are paying for with each of these models. When choosing the dedicated team model you are essentially paying to hire an entire software development team. You are not paying to hire one additional programmer or a few. No, you are paying to hire a certain number of developers, a QA tester, and a project manager. This is at the very minimum.

With the staff augmentation model, however, you may decide that you only need to hire one software engineer. Or that you need just a couple of coders to add to your existing team. This cost is significantly lower than hiring an entire external team.

Plus a staff augmentation company will cover a lot of costs associated with employment. Here at 👉 Swyply, you pay a daily rate 👈 for the software development professionals you rent from us. But we cover costs such as taxes and health insurance. We also pay for vacation time, sick leave, etc. Another expense that is on us is programmer laptops. We also offer co-financing for home office furniture, professional development workshops, etc.

The working structure of both hiring models

There are some major differences in the working structure of these models. The IT staff augmentation model allows you to hire software developers to join your existing teams. They will contribute to the completion of a project. They will work remotely with your team and collaborate during team meetings etc.

With augmented staff, they integrate with your internal team and empower them. They work side by side with your permanent employees but a on project basis. Once the project is complete, they will move on to the next company and the next project.

Now the outsourcing model on the other hand allows you to hire a software development team to complete the project from start to finish. They will not use your internal team or any other resources. In this scenario, the team you hire will consist of developers, QA testers, project managers, etc.

They revolve in their own company culture without ingraining themselves in yours. Also, they will only contact you for decision-making or when they need more information from your customer.

Startup leader drawing flowchart on board and discussing project

Project management for IT staff augmentation vs. dedicated development team

How do project managers work? And who do they work for? Will vary depending on the model that you choose.

When you hire developers using IT staff augmentation, you should have a project manager within your in-house team to help manage your project. However, this is not to say you cannot hire a project manager via a staff augmentation company. You can do this as well.

While with the outsourcing model, the company will have a fully dedicated team. In this team, the company will have software developers, QA testers, and project managers. You will not need to have an internal project manager to help keep your project organized and moving.

Advantages of a dedicated team vs advantages of augmented staff

Let’s check out the gains you gain with a dedicated team model vs the pros of using augmented team members.

Pros of a dedicated team

Here are some benefits of using a dedicated outsourcing team for your next software development project:

  • Your internal team can focus on your core business goals while secondary projects are completed by a dedicated team
  • Dedicated team members have a specialized knowledge base and a better understanding of the project. They may specialize in the project that you are handing off to them. For example, you may find a software development company that specializes in mobile app development. Whereas, your internal team does only web applications.
  • Dedicated teams can work more efficiently as they are focused on the same project,. And have the same goals. They will work solely on your project, without being distracted by other responsibilities.

Pros of IT staff augmentation services

Here are three 👉 advantages of using IT staff augmentation services 👈:

  1. You hire remote software developers to work with your internal team. This saves you money associated with office space. Plus they will already have their own laptops and home office furniture.
  2. You have an abundance of flexibility. You can switch developers, add developers or remove developers easily with this model. In fact, 👉 our guarantee 👈 helps you reduce the risk of hiring the wrong person. And gives you a safety net if something changes with your project.
  3. Scale your team quickly. You can hire additional software engineers in as little as one week. Whereas with a traditional hiring model, you may have to wait 3 to 6 weeks.

Disadvantages of IT staff augmentation vs disadvantages of outsourcing to a dedicated team

Each of these models comes with its disadvantages. It’s up to you to weigh them out to see what you can sacrifice to gain something else. Let us dive into the cons of IT staff augmentation services. And then we will move on to the cons of hiring project-based outsourcing teams.

Cons of IT staff augmentation services

IT staff augmentation services can offer a great deal of flexibility, but they also come with a few associated cons. Chief among these is the challenge of onboarding new hires. IT staff augmentation services can require a lot of organization. It can be difficult to bring new hires up to speed quickly. Because they’re not familiar with the organization’s processes and procedures.

Another downside of IT staff augmentation services is they can place a big workload on management. It’s up to management to ensure that the augmentation staff is meeting the organization’s needs. Additional programmers are making progress on the tasks that have been assigned. This can be a lot of extra work for management. The project manager will need to constantly review the augmentation staff’s performance. Based on that they will provide feedback, and manage any issues that come up.

While IT staff augmentation services can be a great solution for businesses, there are some cons associated with them. As a business owner, you should be aware of these cons before making the decision to use IT staff augmentation services vs dedicated teams.

Cons of outsourcing to a dedicated team

  • Dedicated teams tend to be more expensive than other options. As they require more resources and investments.
  • The success of the project depends on a few people, who could leave or suffer from conflicts.
  • The time frame for the project may be longer since most of the team members need to be trained.
  • You may struggle to communicate with the dedicated team or the outsourcing vendor which can lead to delays in your project.
Remote software team collaborating online

Outsourcing to a dedicated team vs IT staff augmentation – which model is best for my company

The dedicated development team model is a good option for the following two scenarios. First, if you need help with a project that you internally have no knowledge or resources to complete. Second, it’s also a good option if you need a specialized solution.

On the other hand, we have staff augmentation. Employee augmentation provides the ability to solve the changing customers’ needs. While also increasing flexibility for the business. A good thing about staffing increases is that they allow organizations to hire workers and eliminate them as needed.

Example of staff augmentation

For example, hiring developers with a specific tech stack for your project and then letting them go once the project ends. Or hiring a developer for a specific period of time in order to complete a number of tasks in your project. So you can get your project over the hump and then your internal team can fly with the rest.

Also, staffing is cost-effective. Team augmentation enables companies to grow without spending any money on infrastructure or training internal employees. The client will only pay for the services that are being offered and will have the opportunity to acquire highly skilled skills if needed.

So which model do I choose?

So depending on whether you can and want to handle the project internally. Or if you need a specialized team to take it on, you may pick staff augmentation vs a dedicated team.

TL;DR: Summary of IT staff augmentation vs. dedicated teams

Let us sum up the key differences between dedicated teams vs IT staff augmentation, to enable you to make the right choice for your business.

When hiring a dedicated development team you are handing over a tech project to an external team. You can choose to hire a remote software development team to handle a software project that is beyond your typical business. With this model, you can get projects done that you do not have the in-house specialists to complete. You can access specific solutions, without lifting a finger. You can unburden your internal team by paying an external team to do the work. Also, you will be involved in any major decisions and of course, paying for the dedicated team.

Whereas, IT staff augmentation allows you to hire dedicated developers to join your internal team. They can help with short-term projects and complex long-term projects. Also, they help with team expansion to meet project goals and scale your business. They can take on project-specific tasks and help your project manager distribute the workload evenly. Your company can add or remove developers to best handle project changes. Most of the costs associated with employing someone belongs to the staff augmentation company. But the control of your project remains with you.

So if you are looking to add additional developers, keep control over your project and have more hiring flexibility. Choose IT staff augmentation services! 👉 Drop us a line 👈 and let’s team up to scale your business to the moon.

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