The landscape of business is rapidly changing with the rise of remote work and approaches like outstaffing and IT consulting are becoming more prominent. This is often because companies want to be able to launch an MVP without having to source, hire and manage an entire team - keeping them streamlined and lean until launch and beyond.
But there is a question about what the differences may be between something like technical staff augmentation and IT consulting for example. While both may have similar outcomes, their strategies differ in a few key ways.
In this article, we’ll dive deeper into the world of technical staff augmentation and IT consulting and how to decide which is the better option for your organization’s goals.
IT consulting and technical staff augmentation are both services that are utilized in the IT industry. However, there are some key differences between these two types of services.
IT consulting involves working with a company to help them identify and solve complex IT problems. IT consultants typically have a wide range of experience and expertise in various areas of IT, and they can help companies develop strategies to improve their IT systems and processes. IT consultants may also provide guidance on technology selection, implementation, and integration.
On the other hand, technical staff augmentation involves hiring temporary IT staff to fill gaps in a company's existing workforce. This can include hiring developers, engineers, or other IT professionals to work on specific projects or to provide additional support during peak periods of activity. The staff augmentation company typically handles the recruitment, hiring, and management of the temporary staff, while the client company retains control over the work that is being done.
In summary, IT consulting is focused on providing strategic guidance and expertise to help a company solve complex IT problems, while technical staff augmentation is focused on providing temporary IT staff to fill gaps in a company's existing workforce.
Technical staff augmentation can hold a lot of benefits for organizations looking to add expertise to their team without hiring.
To start with, there are none of the headaches of sourcing and hiring your own team. Instead, you approach a fully-built team that already has years of experience working together on previous projects.
This can be a more cost-effective method of getting access to specialized engineering and technical talent without the overhead costs of hiring. In this scenario, staff augmentation allows companies to scale their workforce according to their needs. This means they can follow the lean startup route for longer, saving even more.
Staff augmentation allows companies to access specialized IT expertise and knowledge that they may not have in-house, without the need to invest in training or development. This can lead to faster time-to-market through the optimization of development and implementation. Staff augmentation can also help companies to increase their overall productivity by providing additional resources to complete tasks and projects more efficiently.
Lastly there is a decreased level of risk when you are augmenting your technical staff. It can help to mitigate the risks associated with hiring full-time employees, such as turnover, cultural fit, and legal compliance.
Overall, staff augmentation can provide companies with the flexibility, expertise, and resources they need to achieve their IT goals while minimizing costs and reducing risk.
Like all things, choosing a staff augmentation agency is fraught with pitfalls that need to be known about to be avoided.
Say you already have a partial team in place. When adding temporary staff to an existing team, there can be challenges with integrating them into the team's culture and workflow. This includes issues around communication, and the quality of work produced by temporary staff may not always meet the same standards as that produced by a full-time employee
These are part of the reasons why it’s key to work with a technical staff augmentation team that has the technical experience and portfolio as a show of previous work.
At NineTwoThree Studio, for example, we know that if you just hire a developer, you will have to manage them, create tasks, and ensure they are delivering. It is a lot of work - we know this firsthand. This is why for all of our augmentation packages we provide three teammates. A Project Manager, Developer, and Quality Engineer.
We believe in giving customers full visibility throughout the entire development process. We create project management boards on Monday.com and invite you to see all the updates about every task that the implementation team will be working on.
Each task is detailed with all the screen designs, stories, descriptions, and acceptance criteria ready for QA to test its completion. This radical transparency allows you to see the same picture we see and assures you we are on track.
When considering staff augmentation, it's important to evaluate your specific needs and goals and weigh the potential benefits against the potential pitfalls. You should also carefully vet potential staff augmentation providers to ensure that they have the necessary expertise and resources to meet your needs.
Now we get down to the nitty-gritty of the subject. When is it time to turn to a technical staff augmentation firm and integrate them into your organization?
Staff augmentation can be a good option in a variety of situations, including:
A venture studio can be an effective option for staff augmentation because it offers several key advantages over traditional staffing agencies or IT consulting firms.
To start with, a venture studio typically has a broader range of expertise and resources than a traditional staffing agency, which may specialize in a specific area such as software development or cybersecurity. This means that a venture studio can provide a wider range of IT talent, including developers, designers, data analysts, and more.
A venture studio can also provide a more integrated approach to staff augmentation, working closely with your company to understand your specific needs and goals and providing the necessary resources and expertise to achieve them. This can help to ensure a more seamless integration of temporary staff into your existing team and processes.
Overall, a venture studio can be a valuable partner for companies looking to leverage staff augmentation to achieve their IT goals. By providing a wider range of expertise and resources, a more integrated approach, and a cost-effective solution, a venture studio can help to ensure a successful outcome for your company.
Are you looking to speed up development or bridge gaps with your current engineering team to achieve business requirements? NineTwoThree provides full product services (or partial) to rapidly onboard the top 1% of talent to your current roster. With flexible contracts and flexible teams - we are prepared to augment your staff and build.
