However, hiring new talent is one of the biggest challenges for organizations these days. It often takes a lot of time, money, and effort to hire and retain skilled in-house teams. Therefore, the companies prefer to use third-party services and here are the top two models which are popular:
- IT staff augmentation
- Managed services
In this blog post we are comparing both these models so you can make the best decision for your unique IT staffing requirements.
Understanding IT Staff Augmentation Vs IT Staff Managed Services
T Staff Augmentation:
Businesses can add specialists to internal teams or cover skill gaps by using a hiring approach called “staff augmentation” for a specific project. This is one of the most flexible staffing strategies, which doesn’t necessarily demand a long-term commitment.
The services offered by IT staff augmentation companies help you add experts to your team for both long and short-term initiatives. This approach is often useful for companies that need to retain project control while having access to a global talent pool.
Different Models of IT Staff Augmentation Services:
- Project-Based Staff Augmentation: Hiring IT professionals to work on a particular project for a set amount of time.
- Time-Based Staff Augmentation: Employing IT personnel for a predetermined amount of time. It could be temporary or permanent.
- Hybrid Staff Augmentation: To meet staff shortages, it combines several forms of IT staff augmentation models.
- Onshore Staff Augmentation: Bringing on IT experts from within the nation of the company when regular coordination and communication are required.
- Offshore Staff Augmentation: Hiring IT specialists with a significant time difference across multiple nations.
- Dedicated staff Augmentation: Employing a highly skilled development staff that works dedicatedly on a single project, from start to finish.
Managed IT Services:
A corporation that uses managed services as an outsourcing business model assigns some of its specific operations to a third-party supplier, referred to as managed service provider, or MSP. Managed service providers handle everything for that operation/process, and may include everything from software development to cybersecurity, data migration, and database management.
Managed service providers work independently rather than as part of the organization’s internal IT staff. They give a quote and project schedule to the client, and if approved, they begin working on the assigned projects and stay in constant contact with them. Managed services save money by cutting out extra costs for things like hiring and managing people. Instead of handling work every day, your company can focus on other important tasks and just check in with your service provider for updates now and then.
Managed Services Vs Staff Augmentation, which is better?
Even though each of these outsourcing models has benefits and drawbacks, you must carefully evaluate all your project requirements to decide which model is best for you. Here we are listing a few points which might help you out:
- Adaptability
A certain amount of flexibility is given by both managed and staff augmentation service providers. Staff augmentation will be helpful especially if your internal project team requires additional resources or specific knowledge. Also, it allows you to scale your team size based on your current and on-going needs.
With managed services, you can get things done and start your projects even if you don’t have experts on your team.
- Costs
You just have to pay for the time your additional IT staff works for you when you use staff augmentation. Both large corporations and SMEs with limited resources may find this beneficial.
Although Managed Services normally cost more than staff augmentation and require consistent investment for the long term.
- Control
With staff augmentation, you get a lot more control than with managed services. This means you can add more people to your team and be more involved in how the project is going.
On the other hand, when you work with a managed service provider, they’ll keep in touch with you, but you have less control over the day-to-day work and decisions.
- Safety
In both outsourcing approaches, careful screening of professionals & safety measures is needed. However, staff augmentation carries fewer potential dangers, which are easily mitigated with the use of an NDA (non-disclosure agreement).
When hiring a managed services provider, you should discuss data safety measures and rights to ensure you have all the documentation. This way, you won’t end up paying for processes/services for which you don’t ultimately control the rights.
- Project Length
For initiatives that need flexibility and are short-term or low-budget, staff augmentation is a practical and affordable solution.
On the other hand, managed services are more suited for outsourcing of complete projects/processes on a long-term basis.
Takeaway: Staff Augmentation Vs. Managed Services
Both staff augmentation and managed services help companies get their projects done in an efficient manner. If you need extra hands for a short time, this model is perfect because it gives you the freedom to bring in just the help you need.
But if you need someone to take care of an entire project or manage certain tasks for a longer period, managed services are the better choice.
Not sure which one’s right for you? Let’s talk! Whether you need a full team ready to go or just a few experts, IDS has your back.
