IT staff augmentation vs consulting – what’s the difference

If you are a software development company you may be exploring various options to help grow your business. You may be considering 👉 staff augmentation 👈 vs consulting services as a way to expand your capabilities.

It depends on whether you are looking to hire temporary developers for a project. Or perhaps you just need advice on how to achieve business goals? Do you need to fill a skills gap on your team? Or do you need someone to help you structure a software development project? All these factors can help you make the right decision.

What is IT staff augmentation?

IT staff augmentation is hiring developers on a temporary basis to fill a skills gap in your project. The augmented staff brings knowledge to an internal team. And expand the possibilities of the software development project.

What is consulting?

Consulting is the process of using outside experts to help achieve business goals. Consultants can help give you advice on planning, structuring, implementing, and achieving software development projects. They can help you steer your business or a specific project in the right direction. But consultants are not hired onto your in-house team. They work as a third party to provide advice, not necessarily do the work.

Consulting services work on a partnership basis and in a collaborative manner. This type of partnership can last for varying periods depending on your company’s needs.

Pros of IT staff augmentation vs pros of consulting

Both IT staff augmentation vs consulting services has various advantages. Depending on what you are looking for, one of these services may be better for your business. Let’s review them to see which one might be the right fit.

Advantages of IT staff augmentation

Let’s explore some of the 👉 advantages of using the IT staff augmentation model 👈 vs. consulting services. Some of these benefits include flexible hiring, empowering your in-house team, and maintaining full control over your project.

Flexible hiring options

Staff augmentation services enable you to hire software developers on a project basis. You can hire coders for 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, or more.

Here at Swyply, we give you a 👉 14-day risk-free trial period 👈 which enables you to switch developers if something changes in your project. Or if you are unhappy, you can cancel our cooperation.

Plus overall this hiring model gives you more flexibility. You can add developers to your project if you need them. Also, you can remove developers once their part of the job is done. And you can switch developers if your project needs to change. Lastly, you have the ability to expand and collapse your development team with this flexible staffing option.

Empowers your in-house team

Hiring developers from staff augmentation companies can empower your in-house team. You can take advantage of the extra skills, knowledge, and experience to bolster your current team. They can empower your team by:

• coding your project and giving advice on technical solutions
• discussing any technical issues with your customer
• consulting with you on various tasks and adding a fresh perspective to better your project.

Full control over the software development project

When you add developers using staff augmentation to your existing in-house team, you maintain control over your project. The software development project remains in-house. This allows your project managers to control and assign tasks to developers. They can also pick the tools and methods used to carry out the project.

Plus all knowledge developed during the project remains in-house. The same is true for processes and procedures they remain and are created by your employees with the help of augmented staff.

Advantages of consulting services

Some advantages of consulting services include advice on individual projects along with advice on overall business goals. Let’s get into more detail about the pros of project-based consulting services.

Help with planning, structuring, and executing the project

A consultant can work with your software development team. They can help you with your project from A to Z. The project-based consultant can help you from the conception to the execution of your project. They can assist you with tasks such as:

• planning
• designing
• implementation
• project management
• post-launch support
• and more

Plus the umbrella of consulting is huge, there are so many different avenues you can pull from to help your tech firm. They can help with software development, marketing, etc.

Gain advice on business goals

Another key advantage of using project-based consulting is getting advice on business goals. Consulting services can help you develop a strategy to grow a new aspect of your business. Or they can help you gain more insight into a new project.

Cons of IT staff augmentation vs cons of consulting

When we compare staff augmentation vs consulting, it’s important to look at the disadvantages of each of these options.

Disadvantages of IT staff augmentation

Let’s go over some disadvantages of using IT staff augmentation services.

Onboarding new hires

As part of the hiring process onboarding new hires is a must even with developers from a staff augmentation company. Any additional support that you add to your development team needs to be onboarded. This step is a must regardless of the hiring model you use to hire developers. Hired developers need to be:

1. introduced to the members of your in-house team
2. shown communication and organizational tools that are used within your company
3. taught processes and procedures that are in place
4. integrated into team meetings
5. given tasks and responsibilities

Onboarding is essential for the new programmer to feel like part of the team. Also, they can be productive for you. There is nothing worse than a developer being thrown into a project with no guidance. They are left floating around aimlessly.

Integrating augmented developers with your in-house staff

The process of 👉 integrating augmented staff members 👈 with your permanent employees can be tricky. But it’s important to make additional software engineers feel part of the team. This will help with collaboration and teamwork for your project. Some ways to make collaboration easier include:

• making augmented software developers part of team meetings
• speak to augmented software developers as if they are permanent staff
• add them to company communication channels and organizational tools

Another great way is to invite them to team-building events or company events, so they have the opportunity to meet people face to face.

Disadvantages of consulting services

Now, let’s dive into the cons of using consulting services.

It can be expensive

Hiring consulting services is much more expensive than staff augmentation services. It is more expensive because it offers a lot more. They offer a wider range of capabilities in terms of business strategy, project management, development progress, etc.

Not exclusively available to you

Project-based consulting agencies will partner with you but work outside of your company. They will most likely work with several different customers, so you are not their only priority. So, they may not always be readily available for you.

one-size fits all solution that does not work for everyone

A consulting agency will offer most businesses a one-size fits all solution. They have a project planning scheme that they will generally try to fit for most software development projects. You may find that this one size fits all solution does not work for you and your company.

When to hire via staff augmentation?

Here are three scenarios when you want to hire developers using IT staff augmentation services. You need:

1. to quick scalability of your team
2. accelerated onboarding and no training of new hires
3. top-notched software engineers based on your specific demands

When to employ IT project-based consulting?

You may decide to employ project-based consulting services if you need:

• a strategy for a new department of your tech firm
• specific skills or services without hiring additional employees
• someone who has experience with your types of projects to give you new insights and perspectives

Project consulting is also useful when an organization lacks a team who can handle any specific project.

How to choose between project-based consulting services & IT staff augmentation?

Choosing between project-based consulting services and IT staff augmentation is a difficult decision. Both of these options offer unique benefits and can be cost-effective in certain situations. It is important to consider the time frame, budget, and control that you need when making this decision.

Project-based consulting services can help save time. They can do so by providing access to a team of experts who are already familiar with the project requirements. This allows for more control over the project timeline, as well as the ability to adjust resources quickly if needed.

On the other hand, IT staff augmentation provides access to experienced professionals who can work onsite or remotely depending on your needs. This option gives you more flexibility in terms of cost-effectiveness and scalability. Plus you maintain control over your project as it remains in-house.

It is important to weigh both options carefully before making a decision. Each option has its own unique benefits that should be considered when selecting the best solution for your business needs.

TL;DR Summary: Consulting vs IT staff augmentation

Augmentation vs project-based consulting can be a difficult choice. Each of these hiring approaches offers unique advantages.

When it comes to using a consulting agency, you gain expertise to help advise you on software development projects and business objectives. They offer a broad range of services in terms of offering business strategies, project management, and much more. However, this does make them more expensive than IT staff augmentation. Also, they tend to offer a one-size fits all solution to their customers. This does not always work.

You may decide to employ project-based consulting in your company if you need a strategy to grow a particular sector of your tech company. Or if you need specific skills without hiring professionals onto your team. Lastly, this model may be a good option if you need someone who can give you a new perspective on a project.

On the other hand, we have IT staff augmentation where you are able to hire a software engineer to work with your team. They will help you with a specific project. This approach is a project-specific solution.

Some great benefits of IT staff augmentation include:

• flexible hiring options
• empowering your in-house team
• full control over your software projects

Employ staff augmentation in your company if you need to quickly scale your team. Or you need to speed up onboarding and training processes. It’s also a great option if you need specific skills for a given project.

Does IT staff augmentation sound like the right solution for your company? 👉 Drop us a line 👈, and let’s have a free no-obligation chat about IT staff augmentation services.