Staff augmentation has become the norm for many big businesses to extend their team by filling the necessary skill gaps. The managed services model is another popular team extension method, one of the evolved forms of the staff augmentation model.
So today, let’s compare staff augmentation vs. managed services and see how well they fare against each other. But as always, let’s start with the basics.
Definition of Staff Augmentation
Also known as “flexible staffing” or “temporary staffing,” the staff augmentation model is a great way to temporarily add skilled individuals who can become great resources for your project. The process is best for short-term projects.
Staff augmentation is done through a third-party vendor to help a business with specific tasks. It’s a highly effective model that can give businesses a competitive edge with niche skills while avoiding the timely and expensive formalities of regular hiring.
Pros of Staff Augmentation
Provides Complete Control Over The Project
Staff augmentation hands complete control over the external team to the business owner, allowing better governance. With extensive control, the product owner doesn’t have to modify anything but can allow for better quality.
More Options of Expertise To Choose From
Staff augmentation allows you to choose from an extensive pool of professionals who can provide value to the entire team with their niche skills. The experts can also be picked based on their certification, experience, and special skills.
Short Term Engagement
Staff augmentation allows you to work with specialized individuals for the short term and discontinue the partnership anytime without any additional or continued payment.
Risk Reduction
Employment contracts between the staff augmentation agency and the business owner result in reduced risk factors. There are also fewer employer obligations compared to a full-time employment contract.
Cons of Staff Augmentation
Requires Constant Internal Processing
When working with a diverse team worldwide, you need to maintain constant internal processing through which the team can keep in sync while moving the entire project forward. This process can be highly resource-consuming in the case of more sophisticated tasks.
Short-term Term Collaboration Reduces Loyalty
Augmented team members are obligated to work with you till the contract period is over and don’t have any complete commitment toward your work or your organization. An environment like this can often reduce loyalty towards your project, creating vulnerabilities in data security.
Definition of Managed Services
Managed services is a process where you transfer the control of your business management systems to an enterprising third party or an agency.
In this service model, the client transfers management, monitoring, and control of their system to ensure proper business management for reduced costs.
Pros of Managed Services
Saves More Time
Efficient project and business management reduces overall development time in a project. Moreover, as the vendor agency controls the business management, you can focus your organization’s resources towards more fruitful labors like product marketing and public relations.
Much More Stable Control
You can impose better governance and control over your project with the additional saved time and resources. Outsourcing to a reliable vendor frees you from other responsibilities, allowing you to maintain and control your project accordingly.
Room For More Growth
With the additional breathing room managed services can provide you, it’s easier for you to grasp new unexplored opportunities for your business that can take your brand to the next level.
When you’re exploring options that your competitors don’t know about yet, you’re gaining additional competitive advantage in an ever-changing market, allowing your brand to shine.
Cons of Managed Services
Too Much Reliability on The Service Provider
Since you give up all control in the hands of the vendors, your entire business relies on the service provider to manage your business. The situation becomes even dire when, due to poor management, you get a low-quality product and cannot change it in the final stage.
More Expensive Than Staff Augmentation
Managed service companies take more risks by handling the core processes of a business, so the higher cost is obvious. While the higher cost is justified, there’s no denying that it costs more than staff augmentation.
The Autonomy Is Compromised
Managed service providers should be given more freedom to make critical decisions on different everyday matters regarding the business.
But the internal opinions are the most important, and this contradiction slows down the decision-making process, which can hinder business progress.
The Final Comparison
Factors | Staff Augmentation | Managed Services |
Focuses on the bigger picture of business functions | Focuses on completing specific tasks | |
Offered By | Managed Service Providers | Hired personnel, talent, etc. |
Training Provider | Provided by MSP | Hired individuals have to be trained by business owners |
Payments | Charged monthly | Charged based on the working hours of all externally onboarded people |
Coverage | Defined by SLAs (Service Level Agreements) | Defined by the scope of work |
Commitment | Limited commitment | Committed scope and terms |
Operational Models | No changes in the operational model | The MSP manages operational assets |
Risk Factor | Risk resides with the clients acquiring the services | The MSP takes all the risks |
Transition | There is no set transition structure | Fully documented and trained transition |
Which Should Be Your Final Pick?
You should go with staff augmentation if
- You have a live project that needs urgent assistance from professionals
- It’s not possible to hire a full-time employee on a very short notice
- You need more control over the project and all its procedures
- You need a diverse team who can offer unique outlooks
And you should opt for managed services if
- You don’t have a skillful technical manager on your team
- You need experienced insights into your systems for improvement
- You are aware of all the risks of fully handing your system over to a third-party agency
To Wrap It All Up
Staff augmentation and managed services can provide a unique range of benefits that can help you move your projects forward while safeguarding your brand image and improving it.
If you plan to invest in staff augmentation for your current project and are looking for a trustworthy partner, Impala Intech is here to assist you.
FAQ
Staff augmentation allows better alignment with your team culture as external professionals integrate into your team.
Managed services consolidate vendor management, simplifying interactions and streamlining processes.
Staff augmentation doesn’t require long-term commitments; you hire professionals as needed.
Managed service providers can scale resources up or down based on project needs.
Managed services are suitable for ongoing operations requiring continuous support and expertise.