Staff Augmentation Vs. Outsourcing: Which Engagement Model Should You Choose?

Introduction

In an ambiguous and briskly changing business environment, the demand for IT services is shooting up.
Consequently, today’s market is facing a paucity of skilled software developers. Whether it is the
need to cut personal costs, accelerate project timeline, make the entire workflow more efficient and
effective, or focus on the core business, IT software development service providers
come to the rescue. They suggest an array of outsourcing engagement models
such as staff augmentation and project outsourcing. Though these options provide you with
proficient and adept engineers or designers who assist your team in completing the project within
the mentioned deadline, there are some crucial distinctions between the prior mentioned choices that
you should be aware of before concluding.

But, the question remains – Which model should you plump for? Your answer is here!

Take a glance at a brief description of both models to understand the polarity between them. Keep
reading till the end to get an answer to your unanswered question.

What Is Staff Augmentation?

IT Staff Augmentation is an outsourcing model that involves hiring skilled technical
sources where software development companies provide their engineers in the form
of external hiring to cover necessary positions in a team on a permanent or temporary basis. You are
granted the trump card that allows you to choose candidates that are a perfect fit for your
requirements and to extend or tail off your augmented team at any point in time. Thanks to the
IT Staff Augmentation vendors who help you add skilled technical resources to your
in-house development, reduce costs related to recruitments, payroll services, and project
implementation. Additionally, it is an easily scalable process.

What Are The Advantages Of IT Staff
Augmentation?

1. 1. High Productivity Level

   In staff augmentation, the developers are focused on a single project, i.e., 100% of their
   work time is devoted to one specific task. This results in a high productivity level of a
   company.

2. 2. Hire On The Go

   One of the top-notch benefits of IT Staff Augmentation is that it allows
   firms to hire employees that befits the short-term requirements. This further saves the
   company from additional costs of permanent hiring, like health benefits and employee
   provident funds. Through this model, you can bridge the gap between demand and supply of
   professional skills cost-effectively and efficiently. By hiring on the go, IT Staff
   Augmentation services serve the interest of both the employee and employer.

3. 3. Cost Efficiency

   Since the professionals are hired for a short tenure, the firm
   does not have to bear the additional long-term costs. IT Staff Augmentation has a
   transparent cost structure. You don’t have to worry about expenses like office space,
   workstations, and other facilities. All you have to do is pay the decided fee to the vendor,
   and he will take care of arranging everything.

4. 4. Competitive Edge

   Bringing in new resources will grant more knowledge and
   technological boost to your enterprise. When you partner with IT Staff Augmentation
   companies, the presence of external talent allows the firm to elevate their
   market by showcasing the pool of talent available with them. This pool of talent further
   accords them a higher position and gives them an edge over their competitors.

5. 5. The Blooming 5G

   All major wireless provider companies are ready to roll out 5G! The 5G technology upholds the
   promise of high data transmission speed and broader connectivity for IoT devices in remote
   areas, greatly enhancing the reach and functionality. IoT utilization can be made much
   easier with the fusion of 5G. Analyzing the market trends of 2021, the growth of5G will
   foster innovation and accelerate global demands. After industrial IoT, smart cities are
   second in line for 5G implementation. In the near future, where homes and spaces will have
   automated, voice-controlled devices, lighting, and air-conditioning systems, the blossoming
   of 5G will resolve the issues of developing smart cities and towns as data connectivity
   losses could easily be combated.

What Does The Term Outsourcing Mean?

Yet another outsourcing engagement model, IT Outsourcing, has been a great helping
hand for the firms. It is an external service provider that effectively delivers IT-enabled business
processes, infrastructure solutions, and application services to business companies for upgraded
outcomes. Outsourcing in a broader sense implies partnership than just augmentation that involves an
array of software-related services like analysis and design, UI/UX design, quality assurance,
project management, support, and maintenance.
The IT Outsourcing companies manage recruitment, training, fabrication of a team
of skilled professionals. The team works separately from your firm and never gets involved in
internal development activities or any other in-house programming work. It enables the firms to
reduce cost, accelerate time to the market, and take advantage of external expertise or intellectual
property. While outsourcing, you are paying for a particular, prearranged outcome along with the
burden of risk that you share with the vendor.

What are the benefits of IT
Outsourcing?

1. 1. Control IT Costs

   One of the most apparent benefits of IT Outsourcing is the reduced costs. Outsourcing allows
   you to convert fixed IT costs into variable costs that keep you budget-friendly. To put it
   simply, you pay only for the service you avail. In addition, once the contract is signed,
   the burden of setting up, training, and managing the team falls on the vendor, which further
   helps you control the IT costs.

2. 2. Scaling Staff

   With Outsourcing, an enterprise can hire as many or few members as needed and are integrated
   with projects and crucial tasks immediately. As soon as the project finishes, the firm can
   reduce the staff members, thus allowing scalability of staff too. This further grants
   unprecedented control over the project management without wasting time on hiring and
   training new employees.

3. 3. Increased Expertise

   The firm gets an added benefit of improving the level of expertise of their experience by
   hiring an outsourced IT company that manages their IT. On the contrary to
   in-house hiring, IT outsourcing companies have multiple experts on staff
   with expertise in hardware, software, networks and servers, technical support, and whatnot.
   Through outsourcing, you get the profit of all these facilities at a fraction of the cost of
   bringing similarly experienced experts in-house.

4. 4. Compliance And Security

   When an IT sourced company manages your security and compliance, you get a
   dual benefit. One of increased experience and expertise related to security measures and
   compliance for your firm and second a partnership with a company whose business success
   relies on the quality of their security and compliance services. All the risks for the
   workflow performance and results are put on the service provider.

How To Choose The Best Option?

After a thorough comparison between Staff Augmentation and IT Outsourcing, it is time to answer the
unanswered question, “ How to choose the best option?”
Both models of outsourcing are beneficial for the company and can be opted for hiring outsourcing
employees. The choice between the two depends on the company’s needs and targets. Utilize the IT
Outsourcing model if you are waiting for the outcome of the outsourcing process. Contrarily, if you
are looking for temporary additions to your company’s existing team, then the Staff Augmentation
model will fit the bill.
To sum up, both IT Outsourcing and Staff Augmentation are winning solutions for outsourcing. The
decision solely depends on the needs and goals of your company. As your company’s growth rate keeps
elevating, you can alter these engagement models as needed.