Hiring in-house employees in a world with advanced communication and IT technologies is not a wise idea. The reason is that building global remote teams through globalization and technological developments is now possible, and that is where IT staff augmentation comes in handy. Staff augmentation refers to a flexible outsourcing approach towards hiring tech talent globally.
By adopting this strategy, you can manage your augmented team directly. That implies that you have the freedom to choose the candidates that fit your requirements, as well as scale your team up or down depending on the need at hand.
As such, hiring professionals through IT staff augmentation services allows you to add skilled technical resources to your in-house development team. The employment terms, in this case, can either be on a short or long-term basis. IT staff augmentation eliminates the cost and liability of employing full-time workers. That is as a result of the direct deployment of the technical resources you need by vendors of IT staff augmentation services.
Also, the remote developers you access through IT staff augmentation services attend to one project at a time, which results in better outcomes.
Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation
Currently, most IT managers are acknowledging the fact that staff augmentation is cost-effective. For that reason, the demand for IT staff augmentation services is rising by the day. Here are some of the benefits of IT staff augmentation.
1. Eliminates Hiring Hassles
Vendors of staff augmentation services assume all the responsibilities of a conventional staffing agency. That includes recruitment processes, training, and recommending workers who will help you bring your software to market. The employees you source from IT staff augmentation service providers remain at your disposal for as long as you need them. Scaling talent resources in the case of IT staff augmentation depending on your firm’s requirements, is also possible.
Additionally, cases of overstaffing are less likely. The reason is that you can let go of workers under the IT staff augmentation program once a project is complete. In that case, you can retain your gifted in-house employees and enhance your IT lineup on a per-project basis through staff augmentation services.
2. Promotes Quality Control
Traditional staff outsourcing models may deny you control over the team members that handle your project as well as the quality of their work until a specific project is complete. That is a problem, especially when your project requires skill sets that do not apply to other parts within your organization.
IT staff augmentation allows you to trace individuals with the necessary skills to handle your project without long-term commitments. As such, you will enjoy the services of skilled personnel who provide timely creative solutions on a budget. In turn, the outcome will be the delivery of optimized and competitive products for the marketplace.
3. Encourages Transparency
Some of the challenges of relying on conventional staff outsourcing practices include;
- There is no guarantee that the final product will be bug-free and ready to go.
- The management style that the contractor adopts for your project may not be consistent with yours.
- Lack of insight into how the contractor manages internal workflows. That implies that you cannot tell whether they are using Agile, Waterfall, Scrum, or other development frameworks.
IT staff augmentation promotes transparency by encouraging direct communication and control of your remote team. Also, staff augmentation fosters seamless integration of your in-house IT staff. In that case, you can make adjustments on specific projects where necessary.
Pricing
IT staff augmentation vendors charge a flat monthly fee for each developer. That cost should include the actual salary of the individual you hire and the outsourcing company’s fees for the services they offer.
Advantages of IT Staff Augmentation
- Increased Output – the fact that IT staff augmentation lowers your development costs implies that you can hire more individuals, which will increase your output.
- Reduces Development Costs – working with IT professionals who reside in regions where the cost of living is lower than your current location attracts savings. The reason is that such individuals will charge lower rates for their services.
- Offers Direct Access to Specialist Services – the direct access to the specialists you need through IT staff augmentation services increases the probability of tracing the right talent at the right price.
- Lowers Your Operating Expenses – some of the costs you should budget for when working with in-house IT staff include salaries, equipment, taxes, and office space. IT staff augmentation reduces your operational costs because the concept involves offshore staff outsourcing.
- Withdraws Legal Responsibilities – opting for IT staff augmentation services shifts all legal responsibilities to the outsourcing company, including taxes, payroll, employee benefits, as well as the necessary paperwork. Therefore, you do not have to deal with legal headaches in this case.
Disadvantages of IT Staff Augmentation
- Management Overheads – the input of your current team in terms of additional time and effort is necessary when on-boarding new team members. As such, staff augmentation can overstretch your company resources.
- Training Is A Necessity – integrating new hires into the processes of your organization will require training. That implies that in addition to allocating resources for training, your firm may also suffer the impact of a long learning curve.
- Possibility of Increased Internal Inefficiencies – old habits die hard. If your team members assume that it is business as usual, you may be augmenting underlying problems. So, internal processes become the primary bottleneck in this case.
Cybersecurity Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation
a) It covers short-term gaps in your security team. So, if a critical member of your team is taking some time off, opting for IT staff augmentation services can address the gap that exists in this case.
b) Hiring a cybersecurity expert through staff augmentation services allows your team to access timely feedback and advice on online security matters. In that case, you do not need to plan for teleconferences or other formal communications to address such issues.
c) The IT security contractor you hire through IT staff augmentation vendors can assess your current network assets. That will give them a better understanding of your network environment so they can advise you accordingly on the security measures you should put in place.
Conclusion
Leveraging IT staff augmentation services can help you reap the benefits of the same. If you are experiencing an IT emergency, give us a call. We can remote in and fix the problem so you can access your data no matter where you are in the world!
