What Is The Difference Between Staff Augmentation and IT Managed Services?

Key Takeaways

• Both offer excellent expertise & skills
• Staff augmentation provides great flexibility also suffers from a lack of dedication
• Staff augmentation provides high controllability but, it costs a lot more
• IT Managed services offer some of the best consultations but, some providers can have cloudy pricing
• IT Managed services save a lot of time for the business but, it gives less control

IT outsourcing is picking up steam in many industries but each organization has unique needs. It is crucial to understand what kind of IT outsourcing will work. Both IT Augmentation & IT Managed Services models have many benefits that can save money & time. But which is the perfect model for your business?

The decision between these two models can be overwhelming. There are multiple factors at play here, such as overhead cost of staff, complexities of managing morale of employees, and many more.

To make matters easy for you, we have discussed & compared IT staff augmentation and IT managed services, let's dive into it.

Staff Augmentation 

Many IT companies like to use the staff augmentation model because of a lack of human resources to cope with projects. Companies offering staff augmentation services provide the right human resources with the exact expertise & skills needed to match the business goals.

The added advantage of the staff augmentation model is the firm can find the right developers & experts for the project. Additionally, once the work is complete, you can bid them goodbye. It gives the flexibility to scale up or down the tea whenever the projects demand.

Another vital difference between outsourcing and staff augmentation is that you have more control & direct communication with the contractor. Moreover, the client company (you) can control the quantity & quality of staff selection.

However, there are certain risks involved with the staff augmentation model. For starters, the external employees will lack dedication. Typically, the contractors do not have a sense of ownership of your business’s product/service and hence, don’t really care about the future of your business. This model is neither a cost-effective nor a sustainable solution for the long term. Moreover, you will be paying a lot of additional costs such as commissions, service fees, buy-out fees, etc., if you want to keep the developers for the long term.

IT Managed Services

A managed service provider can provide various advantages to businesses. For instance, it can help minimize costs and improve efficiency. Aside from having the necessary skills and knowledge, a managed service provider also allows you to work seamlessly with your existing business partner. This model is also beneficial for minimizing costs while helping to reach the desired goals.

An added advantage of hiring IT managed services is getting access to a wide range of skills, knowledge, and experience. It can help your business reach its desired goals. This model is also considered a time-saving solution.

Additionally, with IT managed services, your team can focus solely on the business, taking it even further. It opens up opportunities for innovations.

However, you should be careful while hiring an IT managed services provider. You would want a provider who has a long trail of happy clients, a team with a vast set of skills & experience and has the capability of managing big projects.

Conclusion

The main goal of every business is to progress while avoiding losses. Many organizations outsource their work through either staff augmentation or managed services models. Each organization is different & has different requirements. It means each business might find one model more beneficial than the other. So, we recommend keeping your long-term business goal in mind while selecting between staff augmentation & managed services