The trend of using administrators from different organizations to temporarily fill roles – in scenarios like illness and vacation – has existed for a long time. In recent years, this practice has increased dramatically, especially with more and more tech-driven organizations requiring specialized skills. There are many models for this kind of work, one of the most common being IT staff augmentation services.
What is IT Staff Augmentation?
IT staff augmentation is a flexible and efficient strategy that enables you to temporarily bring in external IT experts to supplement your current workforce. Many organizations turn to this strategy when:
- faced with an unforeseen increase in workload
- have projects with specialized skill requirements
- to fast-track the delivery process
The major advantage of these services is that rather than going through lengthy recruitment processes that may end up being quite costly, one can easily add or remove employees depending on workload changes.
Types of IT Staff Augmentation Services
Depending on flexibility and scalability, these services can be classified into several types:
Short-Term Augmentation
Short-term augmentation refers to bringing in additional IT specialists quickly, as one-off or temporary spikes occur normally within weeks to months time frame. It’s great for meeting tight deadlines or handling unexpected demands. For instance, you might hire additional developers to get a software project done on time.
Long-Term Augmentation
If you need continuous support over an extended period or want to address ongoing skills gaps, long-term augmentation is the solution. It may last for several months to a few years, enabling uninterrupted knowledge for strategic undertakings. An example of this would be inviting a cyber security guru to spend three years on a facility’s security enhancement program.
Project-Based Augmentation
In project-based augmentation, means hiring specialized IT consultants to handle your projects from inception up to completion. This setup lasts as long as the duration of the project, ensuring that the project doesn’t suffer from a lack of the right skill set. Think of contracting teams that will manage every process of software development—that’s what project-based augmentation entails.
Skill-Based Augmentation
Skill-based augmentation, as the name suggests, helps you bring in expertise that your current employees may not have. This might be preferred to hiring a completely new team since it is less expensive and less of a hassle. Its duration depends on the project. An example would be if your company was developing a product that uses AI, and hired a subject matter expert on AI. They would work with the company until the product was developed.
Seasonal Augmentation
This form of augmentation is used when there are predictable increases in workload during certain times of the year. It is normally short-term but can be repeated annually. For example, if you run an e-commerce business, you could increase your IT support staff over the Christmas holidays to handle the increased online shopping.
Onsite Augmentation
Onsite augmentation means bringing external IT professionals to work directly with your in-house team at your location. This can be for short or long periods, depending on the project. Picture a network engineer coming on-site to upgrade your network, ensuring seamless collaboration with your internal team.
Offsite/Remote Augmentation
Offsite or remote augmentation leverages external IT professionals who work from their locations. This can be either short-term or long-term, offering you flexibility and access to a wider talent pool. For instance, you might hire remote software developers for an application development project, benefiting from their expertise without needing them on-site.
Hybrid Augmentation
Hybrid augmentation combines onsite and offsite resources for a flexible approach. The duration varies based on your project’s needs, giving you the best of both worlds. Picture a scenario with an onsite project manager while the development team works remotely—this setup ensures effective management and collaboration.
What is the right time to use these services?
The circumstances that necessitate IT staff augmentation need to be carefully assessed. These are a few scenarios where staff augmentation can boost your business:
Supporting Your In-house Team
When you are planning the development of a new product or setting up a new project, there may be a sudden increase in workload for your internal teams. In these cases, bringing in outside expertise can be a huge boost, enabling a more efficient division of labor.
Bridging Skill Gaps
Businesses often have several different projects running simultaneously, each one demanding a different set of skills, across a variety of specializations. This often means that demand for certain specific skills is constantly changing, depending on the needs of the project. It has to be addressed dynamically on a project-by-project basis.
With IT staff augmentation, you can involve experienced, specialized developers as flexibly as you need. This way, you save money, time, and energy by not having to train your in-house employees in temporary skills.
Rapid Expansion of the Team
Finding a local developer with expertise in IoT, Dart, software development, and similar fields can take considerable time. The IT staff augmentation model helps expedite this process. You simply contact the vendor, review the developer’s resume, and conduct an interview, saving significant time in the hiring process.
Meeting Tight Deadlines
The hiring process, from posting a job to onboarding, can take up to two months—time you might not have. Staff augmentation allows you to quickly increase your IT staff to meet deadlines, whether for short-term or long-term projects. This model also provides immediate access to a global talent pool, enabling you to find skilled software developers from around the world.
What are the Benefits?
There are several benefits to using these services:
Flexibility: To adjust for project requirements that change or fluctuate in workload, you can make your team bigger or smaller rapidly. With this flexibility, it is possible to adapt to changing demands without making long-term commitments.
Access to Specialized Skills: By bringing in additional workers, you can acquire professionals with specific technical skills that may be missing from your current team. This approach is invaluable when working with advanced technologies or projects requiring niche skills.
Cost-Effectiveness: There are chances of it being cheaper to hire external IT experts for a temporary period as opposed to recruiting full-time workers. Costs associated with benefits, training, and long-term salaries are saved.
Faster Onboarding: Unlike most new hires, staff augmentation typically involves experienced professionals who can quickly join your team and start contributing right away, reducing the need for extensive training and getting employees on board.
Reduced Risk: Overstaffing or understaffing risks can be mitigated. Depending on the requirements of a given project you can perfectly adjust the size of your team, minimizing the number of idle employees or preventing the lack of enough resources.
Focus on Core Competency: By using staff augmentation to handle specific IT tasks or projects, your internal team can focus on core business activities and strategic initiatives. This can enhance overall productivity and efficiency.
Enhanced Productivity: With the addition of skilled professionals, your team can achieve project goals more efficiently and effectively, leading to better-quality outcomes and higher productivity.
Knowledge Transfer: Temporary services can bring fresh perspectives and new knowledge to your team. This can lead to valuable knowledge transfer, improving the skills and capabilities of your permanent staff.
Scalability for Projects: For projects with defined timelines and specific resource needs, staff augmentation provides the scalability to meet those requirements without long-term commitments.
Control and Management: Unlike outsourcing, where the external provider manages the project, staff augmentation allows you to retain full control over the work and the team. This ensures alignment with your company’s processes, standards, and goals.
Trial for Permanent Roles: Staff augmentation can serve as a trial period for potential permanent hires. You can assess the performance and fit of augmented staff before offering them a permanent position.
IT Staff Augmentation vs IT Outsourcing
These are two strategies businesses typically use to fulfill their needs for additional skills or resources. To make an informed decision that is the best possible option for your organization, you need to understand the differences between these approaches.
Expenses
The typical costs are the salaries of the augmented staff along with a markup charged by the staffing agency. It can be far more cost-effective in the short term. The costs associated with hiring full-time employees, such as equipment, training, and benefits, can be avoided.
The outsourcing strategy can lead to significant cost savings, especially when tasks are outsourced to companies with lower labor costs. But this total cost must take into account any possible issues with quality control, coordinating the efforts of all the teams, and similar risks that arise when it is an external source without much control.
Management and Control
The augmented staff will be working within the existing structure, ensuring that you have full control. This ensures that you can directly manage work quality and project direction, aligning closely with your business culture and processes.
In the outsourcing model, the service provider will be completely managing the project or function that has been outsourced. This reduces your control over day-to-day operations and can lead to differences in work culture and priorities.
Scalability and Flexibility
The IT staff augmentation strategy allows you to easily adjust the number of augmented staff members based on your project’s needs, scaling up or down as required. This adaptability enables you to respond swiftly to changing market conditions.
Outsourcing may have limitations in terms of flexibility. Contracts and service agreements often have fixed terms and conditions, making immediate adjustments more challenging. Scalability might require renegotiating contracts or engaging with additional service providers.
Expertise
Augmented staff are often highly specialized professionals who bring in-depth expertise and innovation to your specific project. This can enhance the quality of work and drive better outcomes, provided their skills are effectively integrated with your team’s efforts.
Outsourced teams are typically specialists in their respective domains, offering a high level of expertise. However, aligning the work with your organizational goals might require periodic communication and oversight.
| Aspect | IT Staff Augmentation | IT Outsourcing |
| Cost Implications | Short-term cost efficiency: Salary plus agency markup; avoiding costs of full-time employment | Potential for significant savings: Lower labor costs |
| Control and Management | High control and direct management: Full project control; works within existing structures | Reduced direct control: Managed by an external provider; possible cultural differences |
| Flexibility and Scalability | High flexibility and scalability: Easy staff adjustments; quick response to market changes | Limited flexibility, contract bound: Contract-bound; adjustments may require negotiations |
| Quality and Expertise | Enhanced quality with specialized skills: Specialized professionals bring innovation | High expertise with oversight needed: Requires clear specifications and oversight |
IT Staff Augmentation Services with Technoforte
Technoforte is one of the best IT companies for staff augmentation, specializing in top-tier IT staff augmentation services and temporary staffing support tailored to your specific needs in SAP HANA, MS Dynamics, and QAD. We aim to provide your business with the talents and skills required to excel in today’s competitive landscape.
Certified Experts: Access highly skilled professionals experienced in SAP HANA, MS Dynamics, and QAD implementations, optimizations, and maintenance.
Project-Based Support: Scale your team with experts tailored to your specific project needs ensuring seamless integration and maximum efficiency.
Comprehensive Solutions: From initial planning to execution and ongoing support our consultants handle all areas of your IT projects providing end-to-end solutions.
Quick Turnaround: Rapidly augment your team with qualified experts to meet urgent project deadlines and business goals.
Cost-Effective: Optimize your budget by hiring temporary staff without the long-term commitments of permanent hires.
How can IT Staffing & Augmentation Companies improve Business Process Efficiency? Ask our specialists!
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Technoforte is an IT Services company with over three decades of experience in the industry. Read more about our Managed IT services. Check out our alternate UAE website here.
