Choosing Between Outsourcing vs Staff Augmentation for Software Development

Are you looking to develop a software solution for your company but wondering whether to go for outsourcing vs staff augmentation?

Then, let us tell you, this is a common dilemma.

As experts in outsourced software development and staff augmentation, we encounter prospects who are confused between the choices.

These companies surely know they cannot pull it off through their existing staff, but are unsure of the choice between outsourcing and staff augmentation.

Now, choosing between outsourcing and staff augmentation can be tricky, particularly given the proven benefits of both.

Yet, the key to making an informed decision is comparing both comprehensively in terms of project outsourcing vs staff augmentation.

What is IT Staff Outsourcing?

IT Staff outsourcing to hiring a software development company (service provider) to undertake a defined portion of the project or the entire project. In this case, the service provider is responsible for delivering the outcome, end-to-end.

The responsibilities vary with the mutually agreed-upon terms and conditions. But usually, the service provider does everything from hiring people for the project to managing the infrastructure. The team would work either on the client’s site or in the service provider’s premises. But it must be noted that outsourcing offers complete project control to the client. It is the execution part that is managed externally.

What is IT Staff Augmentation

Staff augmentation is a model where you retain ownership of your software, architecture, roadmap, and in-house processes, making IT staff augmentation ideal for controlled scaling.

Essentially, the model involves hiring external developers to complement and augment your existing team.

Therefore, it is like strengthening your in-house team by introducing more diverse talent for a particular project and a specific period.

These external resources work as an integral part of your company and report to your internal team rather than the provider through which they’ve come.

In other words, you hire external talent but retain control. However, factors like salary, administration, employee benefits, etc., are all managed by the resource provider. Your role, in terms of the external resources, is restricted to supervising, assigning work, and ensuring seamless integration with your internal team.

So, that was about some key differences of software development project outsourcing and staff augmentation. Now, like every other model, both have their unique pros and cons that you must consider before finalizing either. Let’s look at them next.

Outsourcing vs Staff Augmentation – Pros and Cons

IT Outsourcing Pros

• Offloads the project management burden to the outsourcing service provider.
• Allows you to focus on your core business strategy.
• You get access to full-service teams and diverse talent under a single umbrella.
• The model potentially helps save costs while leveraging global talent.
• The most prepared vendors can help you scale quickly and seamlessly.
• You don’t hire resources full-time, so no salary and administrative burden!

IT Outsourcing Cons

• Lesser direct control over the project’s progress, team, and workflow delivery.
• Communication, cultural, and time-zone challenges can be common.
• A disconnect between the internal and external teams occurs when the collaboration is poor.
• Project startup delays due to vendor selection, contract negotiation, etc.

IT Staff Augmentation Pros

• You decide on staff structuring, task assignment, and progress monitoring.
• Scaling is much easier and quicker.
• Hiring external contractual talent is better than recruiting full-time resources.
• The service provider bears salaries and administrative costs. So, no burden on you.
• The external team works with your in-house team. Thus, better collaboration.

IT Staff Augmentation Cons

• You still must be actively engaged while assigning tasks, tracking progress, etc.
• Lack of careful cost control can outweigh the hourly cost.
• Onboarding and ensuring productivity may take time.

Project Outsourcing vs Staff Augmentation – When to Choose What?

OK. So now that you know the basic differences and the pros and cons of both models, here’s when you can use outsourcing and when you go for augmentation.

Choose Outsourcing When,

• You want to outsource the entire project and focus solely on outcomes.
• You have a well-defined project scope and can negotiate deliverables, milestones, etc.
• You want to accelerate development by using a vendor’s capabilities.
• You need a predictable cost model, and you won’t make significant changes.
• You have a long-term project requirement.

Choose Staff Augmentation When,

• You have a capable in-house team and want to enhance its capabilities.
• You want to maintain project oversight and have better control.
• You need short-term resources for a sprint, migration, or to handle backlog.
• You need a flexible model that doesn’t involve a long-term commitment.
• Your internal processes are well-established.

Since project requirements are usually complex and no model is perfect, most companies choose a hybrid model. Therefore, they begin with outsourcing a core product, and later leverage staff augmentation to support ongoing enhancements, upgrades, updates, maintenance, or scaling. This way, they can optimize the benefits of both models while ensuring costs and project progress stay in control.

Need Onsite or Offshore IT Outsourcing vs Staff Augmentation Support?

Then, choose Fidel Softech, one of the most trusted partners in outsourcing and IT staff augmentation. Our consultants provide end-to-end assistance, which includes helping identify the right model for your business, optimizing its benefits, ensuring optimal project control on your side, and timely completion at ours.

Besides, our extensive access to diverse talent pools means limitless access to versatile resources that cover all your project needs.

Would you like to explore our outsourcing and staff augmentation models and enter a detailed dialogue with our specialists? Please email us at sales@fidelsoftech.com.

Ref. No – FB01261105

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