Staff augmentation vs managed services – which is the best choice? In a competitive market, finding IT outsourcing solutions is the top choice for businesses without strong in-house resources to handle projects. Staff augmentation and managed services are suitable IT outsourcing models to replace full-time internal teams. However, the effectiveness of each model depends on various factors. To determine which model is best for your business, read the article below for a detailed comparison and learn the difference between managed services and staff augmentation.

What is Staff augmentation?

Before comparing staff augmentation vs managed services, you need to understand each model clearly. Staff augmentation means adding IT professionals to your existing team and workflow. This is a temporary solution, as these new employees are usually hired for a limited period.

Staff augmentation allows you to enhance the capabilities of your development team. This IT outsourcing model is a harmonious combination of a reliable in-house team with the flexibility of outsourcing, enabling you to scale your team up or down based on your needs. Staff augmentation is particularly beneficial if you already have a talented IT team but are missing some critical skills needed for a specific project.

1. The staff augmentation process

Each company has a different staff augmentation process. However, this process typically includes the following three steps:

• Step 1 – Identify skill gaps: Determine the skills your team lacks and ask recruitment specialists to find developers with the appropriate skills to meet your needs.
• Step 2 – Onboarding: Once you have recruited the right experts, you need to help them get acquainted with your internal team.
• Step 3 – Adoption: Ensure the new employees continuously learn and develop to become a part of your internal team, bringing unique value to the project.

2. Types of staff augmentation

Based on the duration of personnel use, staff augmentation is typically divided into two main types:

• Short-term: This model is often used when companies are busy and have many tasks to handle or when internal experts are on leave.
• Long-term: Ideally suited when companies have a specific project and need to fill skill gaps, or want to save time and costs in the internal hiring process.

Additionally, staff augmentation can be categorized into three types based on the nature of the recruited personnel:

• Not highly skilled: Requires reliable personnel but not necessarily highly skilled, for tasks such as event support or warehouse organization.
• Skill-based: Requires personnel with specific skills, regardless of high proficiency, such as data processing or copywriting.
• Highly skilled: Requires personnel with advanced skills like software engineering or brand design.

What are managed services?

Understanding what managed services entail will also make it easier for you to compare staff augmentation vs managed services. The difference between managed services and staff augmentation is that managed services mean you utilize specific services from a third party, and these third parties provide suitable specialists to execute these services. 

Managed services include network security, infrastructure, communication services, data analytics, data backup, etc. The greatest benefit of managed services is helping businesses focus on core operations without spending time managing IT tasks. This model is highly suitable for businesses seeking external IT support due to budget constraints or the complexity of managing an internal IT workforce.

Difference between staff augmentation vs managed services

Staff augmentation vs managed services differ in many aspects. For example, with staff augmentation, businesses have more control over their personnel compared to managed services. On the other hand, staff augmentation offers higher flexibility, allowing for specific function expansions. Managed services, however, are suitable for long-term tasks.

So what exactly is the difference between staff augmentation and managed services? Let’s take a detailed look at the comparison table of managed services vs staff augmentation below.

Factors	Staff Augmentation	Managed services
Process	Inputs: Outsources tasks and functions	Outputs: Outsources solutions and management
Payment	Based on time spent on projects (usually Weekly)	Based on retainer (usually annually)
Management	Client (Business)	Vendor
Engagement	Full-time	Full-time or Part-time
Communication	Direct	via Vendor
Level of control	More control over projects for client (business)	Service providers control over the project.
HR tasks (recruiting, payroll office facilities,…)	Vendor	Vendor
Flexibility and scalability	Great flexibility and scalability	Less flexibility and scalability
Budgeting	Cost-effective for short-term needs	Save costs in the long run
Best use project	– Flexible – Rapid-growth – Low-budget – Short-term project	– Stable – Long-Term – Outsourcing entire project
Pros	– Flexibility in staffing – Rapid addition of necessary skills – Cost savings – Reduced management-related issues – Meet strict deadlines – Seamless integration of personnel	– Long-term cost-effectiveness – Skill and knowledge expansion – Flexibility – Easy monitoring – Ensure results
Cons	– Need for staff training – Need for management resources – Need for integrating members into internal teams	– Higher costs involved – Potential security vulnerabilities – Possible costs due to supplier transitions

Certainly, the detailed comparison above should have helped you understand the differences between staff augmentation vs. managed services. As a business owner looking to propel any project forward, understanding the managed services model vs staff augmentation will help you choose the most suitable IT outsourcing model based on your needs, ensuring effectiveness.

The choice between IT-managed services vs staff augmentation depends on several factors such as core focus areas, project type, budget, etc. Staff augmentation is ideal if you need quick and temporary support and want full control over your project. It’s a great option when you need to kickstart a supplementary project, accelerate product launches, save costs on recruitment for a project, or assemble a temporary team within a limited timeframe.

On the other hand, managed services are more suitable if you can afford higher costs to hire a third party to oversee business operations, or if you have a long-term project needing consistent personnel without the overhead of managing HR tasks.

However, a key difference between staff augmentation vs managed services is that with managed services, you need to find a reliable service provider with extensive experience who can take responsibility when you cannot manage tasks regularly or lack managerial oversight. Additionally, if opting for the managed services model, you need to be aware of all associated risks and potential pitfalls.

Conclusion

After this detailed comparison of managed services vs staff augmentation, you can see that both models have their own advantages and disadvantages, making it challenging to determine which one is most suitable. The choice entirely depends on your specific needs. Hope this article has helped you grasp the basic differences between managed services and staff augmentation for an easier decision-making process. Because choosing the right approach plays a crucial role in the success of your project.

If you’re still unsure which model to choose between staff augmentation vs managed services, feel free to contact Luvina. With over 20 years of experience working with clients of all sizes, we can assist you in selecting the most suitable and effective model.