The IT scenario across the globe is undergoing a massive metamorphosis since recent years, and because of this, the IT needs of companies are evolving. The ever-changing technology sector is giving a fertile ground for companies to go beyond horizons and emerge as winners in this rampantly competitive market. The enormous and unwieldy game of technology affects the corporate world in and out, urging companies to look for ways on how they can speed up their operations, complete the projects on time, stay ahead with technology and do all of this in a cost-effective way.
The interdependent and interconnected environment has inclined organizations to adopt sound strategies to meet their growing web or mobile app development needs. Staff Augmentation and Project Outsourcing are the two major solutions through which firms can lessen their workload immensely. Hence these two delivery models are emerging out as latest trends globally, especially for those companies who aim for external help and aspire for efficiency, transparency, and timeliness, all at the same time.
Challenges-
Some of the daunting challenges faced by companies today include timely delivery of projects, loads of work, operating within a set budget, keeping in sync with the constantly changing IT needs, lack of skilled resources, etc. These are the primary reasons that urge companies to adopt either of the two strategies – adding staff to their already existing teams or taking external help for completing a project.
Both Staff Augmentation and Project Outsourcing are effective with each having its set of pros and cons. Let’s have a quick look at how these two models are different from each other and what each has to offer. This will give companies a better idea of which solution they should consider for their projects.
Staff Augmentation –
Staff Augmentation helps organizations in hiring talented personnel who can bring higher efficiency in their processes. It is a unique way to get qualified and experienced professionals at a comparatively lower cost.Through Staff Augmentation, firms can increase as well as decrease the number of candidates they recruit, depending on the project requirement. It gives them the flexibility to keep employees for long term or short term based on the project demands.
Merits:
- Easier to implement
- Significant reduction in overhead expenses
- Cost-saving as companies do not need to hire permanent resources for a short-term project
- More exposure for both existing as well as new employees
- It works best for companies who work on projects having tight deadlines
- Easier management of teams
Demerits:
- Training to be provided to new hires which is time-consuming
- Improper communication between management and new employees might lead to disappointments and failures.
When should companies opt for Staff Augmentation?
As mentioned above, the benefits of amplifying teams by bringing in new resources, are many, but companies should have a clear insight as to when exactly they should opt for Staff Augmentation to address the growing project demands. Firstly, if there is a need to infuse new knowledge, ideas, and skills into the team, this delivery model is the best approach. Secondly, if a company lacks in a particular kind of talent while working on a specific project, then they can take the help of specialized recruitment companies who can find the appropriate resources for them. Thirdly, when the workload is more, and the number of employees is not sufficient to complete the project. Here, again, by opting for Staff Augmentation, firms add on a few more employees to complete the project on time.
Project Outsourcing –
Another means to a timely and budget-friendly project delivery is through Project Outsourcing. Companies outsource the entire project from its management and operations to its delivery, to a specialized service provider. An impressive long-term strategy to deliver projects efficiently and on time, Project Outsourcing is one of the most preferred delivery models adopted by companies these days.
Merits:
- Decrease in costs related to the training of new employees.
- Management overhead cost goes down
- The outsourcing company shoulders the responsibility of driving the entire project
- Higher Scalability
- Result-oriented process
- Frequent supervision not required
Demerits:
- Complete dependence on the outsourcing company
- It’s a daunting challenge to get a reliable service provider
When is the right time to go for Project Outsourcing?
When firms are low on staff to complete a particular project from start to end, taking external help by outsourcing the project to a company that specializes in that domain, can be a savior. Also, it might be possible that the project a company gets, demands a certain kind of skill-sets and experience which the employees of the firm lack in. Adopting this delivery model can be of tremendous help in this case. Lastly, one major problem that many organizations face regardless of how large or small in size they are, is of shortage of cash to fund the projects. Lending the project to a different company that possesses the experience and expertise in this sector and can take control of the project at a reasonable cost, can save firms from the burden of bearing exorbitant costs.
Puzzled as to which delivery model suits best for you? Well, a careful evaluation of both the approaches is needed to zero in on a particular model. Both staff augmentation and project outsourcing have their own set of benefits. It might be possible that for some of your requirements, Staff Augmentation serves you best, while for some Project Outsourcing works better. Post examining both the approaches on all aspects, factoring in all the pros and cons, companies can opt for either of the two.
Ideally, Staff Augmentation works well with small and medium-sized companies while Project outsourcing is a good choice for firms operating on a larger scale. Whether its short term or long term, permanent or temporary and onsite or offsite recruitment needs, businesses can leverage the expertise of the global IT Staff Augmentation and Project Outsourcing companies that specialize in hunting the skilled resources and in handling the entire projects related to web or mobile application development.
To sum it up, companies should take up a sound approach that they feel can work wonders for their business. Reaching out to project-centric goals faster could never get easier.
