Types of IT staff augmentation services

There are many different types of IT staff augmentation. Generally speaking, IT Staff augmentation involves an outsourced collaboration approach. Where a person can be hired on contractual terms rather than permanently. You can get highly experienced personnel in staff enhancement companies. They will support you in fulfilling your project goals.

In software development, most firms operate in tight time-based sprints. Also, they have long recruiting processes that could cause delays for the team. Team augmentation allows organizations to increase the number of staff as necessary. Also, they can sometimes speed up the onboarding process and offer flexibility.

Moreover, it has gained fast acceptance across various tech companies. Tech companies such as StartUps, SaaS companies, and Software Houses. This staff enhancement model is an ideal solution for a fast turnaround time for the recruitment process.

Two main types of IT staff augmentation services

When using IT staff augmentation services you can aim to use it in two forms. One is short-term IT staff augmentation services. The other is long-term IT staff augmentation services. This will depend on your needs and the software development project that you need to be completed.

Short-term IT staff augmentation

Short-term IT staff augmentation services can take care of projects that last between 3 to 6 months. This may be a quick website development project that you just need extra hands to join. Or your in-house development team may need additional members to help finish a larger software development project.

It’s important to remember that augmented staff can join your team at the start of a project, somewhere in the middle, or to help finish. There is no recommended time slot for when you must add developers from a staff augmentation company.

Long-term IT staff augmentation

Long-term IT staff augmentation is any project that lasts longer than 6 months. This can be a project that lasts 6 months, 9 months, a year, or longer. This type of staff augmentation can be beneficial to both the company and the augmented staff.

The developers working on a staff augmentation basis will get to know your project better. So, hopefully, they will be more productive. Plus the rhythm of collaboration between your in-house team and the augmented staff will develop a nice flow. Meaning that communication and organization within the project will proceed smoothly. Also, your project managers will be happier in the long term because the beginning hiccups will no longer be an issue.

Three categories of IT staff augmentation

There are three main categories in the realm of IT staff augmentation. Each of these categories can provide you with a software developer whose skills meet your specification.

The first category of IT staff augmentation is commodity staff augmentation. The commodity staff augmentation model involves hiring developers. Developers who perhaps have more general knowledge of programming. They may not be specialists in a given tech stack or they are full-stack developers.

The second category of the staff augmentation model is skilled workers. Or in the case of IT staff augmentation, it would be skilled developers. So you may need a developer that has specific experience and specializes in a tech stack.

The final category is highly skilled staff augmentation. This category is hyper-focused on skills and niche experts. Let’s explore each of these in more detail.

Commodity staff augmentation services

Commodity staff augmentation in the IT industry is a great option if you are looking for a developer who possesses general skills. You can think of this type of developer as a handyman. So they will be able to do something here and there but they are not specialists in anything.

Moreover, they may be more willing to learn something new or try something new, than perhaps someone who has found his or her niche.

An IT-based example of this may be a full-stack developer. You can hire fantastic full-stack developers who are talented in a few programming languages but are not specialists. Let’s say you need a WordPress developer, he may feel best at PHP & JavaScript programming. But he can create a WordPress site for you because he also has knowledge and skills in HTML and CSS.

But it is also worth mentioning while on the topic of full-stack developers. That some will be comfortable in one specific back-end and one specific front-end. And they will not want to veer outside those lanes.

Skilled workers from the IT staff augmentation company

In this category, you may be looking to hire temporary workers such as front-end developers or back-end developers. This may be a software engineer who has specialized skills in a particular tech stack. This can be a developer who let’s say has a minimum of 3 years of experience in ReactJS. This particular developer is an expert in that programming framework.

The same is true if you are looking for a backend developer who specializes in Ruby on Rails to create the backend for your web application. You can hire someone through an IT staff augmentation company to fill that role.

Highly skilled team augmentation services

In this category of IT staff augmentation model, you are looking for a developer with advanced skills. Or perhaps you are looking for a software engineer that has very niche skills.

An example of niche skills in software development make include:

A developer who can build Internet of Things products. This could be an application for a smart home. They could specialize in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning to help develop tools that we use every day.

Some tech stacks that may be used for these types of software development projects include Flutter, Node-RED, Caffee, and many others.

An example of advanced skills for a software engineer:

Your company may be looking for a senior-level developer who has skills in more than one tech stack, and one of them is more niche than the rest. Perhaps, this developer has to have ‘X years of experience’.

You can access talent from each of these types using various IT staff augmentation vendors.

6 types of IT staff augmentation vendors

There are 6 different types of IT staff augmentation vendors that you can choose from to gain valuable developers.

One example of an IT staff augmentation partner is a traditional staff augmentation provider. This type of vendor provides temporary employees for all types of projects.

Another staff augmentation provider would be a master vendor staff provider. This may be outsourcing or managed services.

Gig platforms & on-demand talent platforms are also popular to gain freelance developers. You can use something like Fiverr or Upwork. Let’s take a look at these vendors in more detail below.

Traditional Staff Providers

Traditional staff providers are companies that provide temporary staffing solutions for businesses. These companies typically provide short-term, temporary employees to meet the business’ staffing needs. They may provide staffing for any type of job. This is including administrative, customer service, engineering, IT, and warehouse positions.

Also, these companies provide a variety of services. This can include recruiting, screening, interviewing, and placement of qualified candidates. They also provide additional services such as payroll, benefits administration, and training.

An example of a Traditional Staff provider

Swyply is an excellent example of a traditional staff provider. Swyply will provide you with additional tech talent to fill the skill gap in your organization. We will source, recruit, interview, and place qualified developers.

You will interview candidates at an accelerated rate more out of formality than a necessity. Swyply wants to you hire developers that best fit your company. So we arrange virtual interviews so that reality meets expectations.

Master Vendor Staff Provider

A master vendor staff provider is a company or organization that provides staff. They will also take on the task of managing staff for other companies or organizations.

Also, the master vendor acts as the main point of contact for the staff and the client who requires the staff.

The master vendor will recruit and manage the staff. They can also manage payroll and payments. Lastly, they can provide client services, such as performance management and reporting.

An example of a Master Vendor Staff Provider

An example of a master vendor staff provider within the IT industry is a project outsourcing vendor. They will provide you with staff to complete a project along with managing these additional individuals.

They will contact the client for any decisions that need to be made or other aspects that are vital. But the smaller details the outsourcing company will deal with on their own.

Another example of a master vendor staff provider is managed services. Within managed services most IT services are outsourced. These are beneficial for organizations that don’t have the resources to hire an in-house IT team.

Specialized/Boutique Agencies

Specialized/Boutique Agencies provide specialized services. These services include augmented staff or temporary staffing solutions. Augmented staff is usually provided for specific job roles or industries. This can be a smaller company that provides niche team members.

An example of Specialized/Boutique Agencies

You can find a boutique agency that specializes in providing your in-house team with experts for a specific role or department. There are agencies out there that provide only mobile app developers, nothing else.

There are boutique agencies that can provide you with only IT project managers. So they do not hire just project managers. But they hire individuals who specialize in managing software development projects.

Gig Platforms

A gig platform is usually based online and experts from various industries can advertise themselves. Typically these individuals are looking for quick and short tasks to make a buck.

An example of Gig Platforms

A current-day example of a gig platform is Fiverr. This gig platform is set up as kind of like an online marketplace. Anyone can post an ad here from businesses to freelancers. This type of platform helps people connect to find what they are looking for.

You type in what you are looking for, select a category, and comb through dozens if not hundreds of profiles to find the expert that meets your needs.

On-demand Talent Platforms

On-demand talent platforms are very similar to gig platforms. They are online services where people post their availability to do various jobs within their field or expertise. Hiring someone from this type of platform means they are not on your payroll, do not have employee benefits and chances are they work freelance.

An example of on-demand Talent Platforms

Upwork is a popular on-demand talent platform. You can find work or find talent depending on who you are. Moreover, you can browse via categories to find experienced developers to join your team.

Freelance contracts

Freelance developers are independent contractors who provide services to clients on a project-by-project basis. They are often hired to work on specific projects, usually for a specified period of time and with a set fee.

Freelancing is becoming increasingly popular among software developers. This is due to its flexibility and the ability to work remotely.

A freelance contract is an agreement between the client and the freelancer. This contract states the terms of their engagement, including payment and deliverables. It is important for both parties to have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This will ensure that the project is successful.

Also, a freelance developer will not be on your permanent payroll or part of your full-time employees’ team.

An example of freelance contracts

An example of a freelance developer could include someone who specializes in a particular field. For example, they can specialize in web development or mobile app development. Perhaps they specialize in game development.

Freelance developers can also specialize in other areas such as design, data science, or artificial intelligence (AI). They will work freelance in the area you need for a given period of time and that’s it.

Staff augmentation model vs in house development team

Choosing between a staff augmentation model and an in-house development team for your business can be a difficult decision.

Why IT Staff augmentation?

Using staff augmentation service can provide you with access to a wider range of skills and expertise. Taking advantage of a skill-based staff augmentation can give you the expertise to bring your business to the next level.

The staff augmentation model is becoming more and more popular. It is popular due to its cost-effectiveness and scalability. It is cost-effective because a staff augmentation company uses its financial resources to cover employee costs. Costs such as health care, taxes, sick leave, vacation pay, ongoing training, etc.

Plus you only pay the staffing provider for the duration that the developer works for you. Once they leave your IT workforce, you no longer pay them.

Also, you have a safety net with hiring someone from a staff augmentation company. Most of the time these remote developers are pre-vetted, so less risk of hiring the wrong person. Also often times you have the option to switch software developers if anything changes in your project.

Why In-house software developers?

With an in-house development team, you can focus on core business priorities and grow together. But setting up an in-house development team may require more time and money to set up.

Plus hiring full-time employees to be permanent members of staff increases your liability. You risk hiring the wrong person, without any easy out. Firing a permanent employee is never easy. The cost associated with the recruitment process and firing process can be expensive.

Summing up staff augmentation vs in-house team

You will need an in-house software development team to carry out the core of your IT projects. So regardless of whether you choose to work with staff augmentation providers, you need in-house developers.

The best way to make staff augmentation work is to have established in-house teams. Then augmented staff can join your tech company to be part of your development team. Your development team ideally should consist of developers, QA testers, and project managers.

This way extra remote developers can assist your software development team in completing a project. They are not going to take the project on themselves. And complete it from start to finish, without your local team.

So for a particular project, you may wonder which model to choose 👉 staff augmentation model vs in-house 👈 but in reality, one cannot exist without the other.

TL;DR: Round-up of different types of IT staff augmentation services

We can sum up the IT staff augmentation model into two different types. The first one is short-term team augmentation which is great for projects between 3 to 5 months. The second type is long-term augmentation which is any project that lasts longer than 6 months.

Within these two main types of staff augmentation, there are three different types. The first type is a commodity, the second is skilled and the last one is highly skilled.

We also got into the 6 different types of IT staff augmentation vendors:

• Traditional Staff providers
• Master Vendor Staff providers
• Specialized/Boutique Agencies
• Gig Platforms
• On-demand Talent Platforms
• Freelance contracts

Each of these staff augmentation partners can provide you with the software developers you need to complete your project. However, the hiring processes may differ along with terms and conditions. Also, the cost of hiring someone through one vendor not the other will also differ.

Swyply is the ideal example of a traditional staff provider. We can provide you with remote developers to work on an entire project. They provide your existing staff with needed technical expertise. So that you can continue to grow your core business services.

Master vendor staff providers can include dedicated teams and managed services. They can even include outsourcing vendors. Whereas a specialized/boutique agency may be a small company that can provide you with niche skilled staff. For example, only providing developers that specialize in mobile applications.

Gig platforms and on-demand talent platforms will include online marketplaces such as Fiverr and Upwork. These can provide you with connections to freelance developers or to a team of developers.

Lastly, you have freelance remote developers who can work for you at a fixed rate and for a certain period of time. They will never join your team or even meet your development team. A freelance developer will work similarly to independent contractors. They will finish the tasks that you pay them for and that’s all.

Are you curious to find out more about staff augmentation and staffing services? 👉 Drop us a line 👈 and let’s chat about how a staff augmentation team can help your software development services.