Businesses often choose between IT Staff Augmentation and Managed Services when deciding on an outsourcing strategy. Which model is best for your business's success?
Both models can boost efficiency and provide access to specialized skills, but the right fit depends on your needs.
This blog breaks down these models, highlighting their benefits and differences to help you choose the best solution for your business.
Remote work, outsourcing, and the process of hiring augmented staff have become a common practice now. Such models come with benefits like higher productivity, reduced costs, and increased employee satisfaction.
But, choosing an outsourcing company/provider welcomes increased flexibility for software development teams.
Outsourcing can be offshore or onshore. For IT outsourcing, you can choose staff augmentation. Here, you can ask the outsourcing company to provide you with experts to support your existing teams. You can also choose managed service providers that will allow you and your entire team to support your IT needs.
This blog will compare what’s best for business success, IT staff augmentation, or managed services. But before we compare, let’s learn some basics.
What Is IT Staff Augmentation?
IT Staff Augmentation allows businesses to hire skilled professionals temporarily to support specific projects. It’s a flexible model that helps companies scale their workforce to handle workload peaks, fill skill gaps, or meet tight deadlines. Augmented staff work alongside your in-house team under your supervision, ensuring seamless integration into your processes.
This model often works well for project-based tasks like software development, quality assurance, or IT operations where specialized expertise is crucial.
5 Benefits of IT Staff Augmentation:
- Elimination of Hiring Challenges
Recruiting full-time employees can be time-consuming and costly, especially when the demand is temporary. With IT staff augmentation, the service provider manages everything, from sourcing candidates to onboarding, saving you time and resources. This allows businesses to focus on their core operations while gaining access to skilled professionals quickly. - Scalable Staffing
Projects often require varying levels of staffing. IT staff augmentation lets you scale your workforce up or down based on current demands. Whether you need additional developers for a new project or fewer resources as the project winds down, this model ensures flexibility without overcommitting to permanent hires. - Complete Control
Unlike other outsourcing models, staff augmentation gives you full control over the project and the augmented staff. You can manage workflows, monitor performance, and ensure alignment with your internal processes and business goals, maintaining transparency throughout the project lifecycle. - Seamless Integration
Augmented staff blend with your in-house team, working with the same tools and systems. This minimizes disruption and enhances collaboration, enabling your team to meet project milestones efficiently without creating organizational silos. - Access to Specialized Expertise
Hiring full-time employees with niche skills can be impractical for short-term needs. Staff augmentation provides immediate access to professionals with specialized expertise, such as cybersecurity, DevOps, or data analytics, ensuring high-quality outcomes without long-term commitments.
What Are Managed Services?
Managed Services involve outsourcing specific business functions or tasks to a third-party provider. The managed service provider (MSP) wholly owns the functions while adhering to agreed-upon Service Level Agreements (SLAs). This model is ideal for businesses seeking end-to-end solutions for ongoing or complex tasks.
5 Benefits of Managed Services:
- Operational Efficiency
Managed service providers leverage best practices, industry expertise, and advanced tools to optimize workflows. By handling routine tasks like IT support, data migration, or network monitoring, MSPs allow businesses to focus on strategic objectives, enhancing overall productivity. - Guaranteed Outcomes
MSPs operate under SLAs, which outline deliverables, timelines, and quality standards. These agreements ensure accountability, give businesses peace of mind, and ensure task completion as promised, with measurable results. - Focus on Core Business
Delegating operational responsibilities to an MSP allows your internal teams to concentrate on growth initiatives, such as product development or market expansion. This strategic focus can lead to better innovation and competitive advantage. - Cost Savings
Building and maintaining an in-house team for specialized tasks can be expensive. Managed services eliminate the need for infrastructure investments and ongoing training costs. Businesses only pay for the services delivered, making this a cost-effective solution for long-term needs. - No Training or Onboarding Required
MSPs provide ready-to-go teams equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge. This eliminates the time and expense of training new hires, ensuring a quicker start and smoother execution of tasks.
Comparing Staff Augmentation Vs. Managed Services
1. Flexibility
- Staff Augmentation: Offers high scalability, allowing you to adjust your team size as project requirements change. It’s beneficial for businesses with fluctuating workloads or short-term projects.
- Managed Services: Provides operational flexibility within the scope of predefined agreements. However, it may involve longer-term commitments compared to staff augmentation.
2. Cost Efficiency
- Staff Augmentation: Ideal for short-term projects with its pay-as-you-go structure. You can manage costs effectively without committing to full-time employees or additional infrastructure.
- Managed Services: While it may involve higher initial costs, the bundled services often prove economical for long-term or highly complex projects.
3. Control
- Staff Augmentation: Retain complete control over your team and workflows. This model ensures your processes and goals are prioritized without interference.
- Managed Services: The MSP takes ownership of the tasks, reducing your day-to-day involvement. However, this limits your ability to make immediate changes or adjustments.
4. Time
- Staff Augmentation: Onboarding is quick and efficient, enabling you to start projects faster, especially when facing tight deadlines.
- Managed Services: Setting up managed services can take longer as you’d need to establish processes and expectations upfront.
5. Security
- Staff Augmentation: Since the augmented staff works within your system and under your supervision, your data remains secure.
- Managed Services: Sharing sensitive information with an external provider requires robust contracts and trust in the MSP’s security protocols.
6. Project Duration
- Staff Augmentation: Best suited for short-term or flexible projects requiring temporary support.
- Managed Services: More suitable for long-term or highly complex projects requiring consistent oversight and expertise.
Making the Right Choice
Deciding between IT Staff Augmentation and Managed Services depends on your business needs:
- For short-term flexibility and control, staff augmentation is the better choice.
- For long-term strategic tasks, managed services offer comprehensive support.
- For hybrid needs, consider combining both models to balance agility with expertise.
Why Choose BolsterBiz?
At BolsterBiz, we provide tailored IT Staff Augmentation solutions designed to meet your unique business challenges. With access to top-tier talent and seamless integration, we empower your projects with:
- Scalable Staffing Options to adapt to your changing needs.
- Expert Professionals are skilled in DevOps, cybersecurity, data analytics, and more.
- Streamlined Collaboration, ensuring your team’s productivity remains intact.
- Robust Security Measures safeguarding your sensitive data.
Ready to take your business to the next level? Contact BolsterBiz today and discover how our outsourcing solutions can help you achieve success.