As an in-house IT manager, a CIO, a CTO or a business professional, you may already have grasped the critical need for additional help on an IT project – whether it is ongoing assistance or help for a standalone project. You see the full picture. You know your IT team is overwhelmed, you know their skill set and you know you can’t get the job done with the existing knowledge and resources you have. You also understand the importance of getting that job done quickly and effectively.
In this article, we outline four benefits of IT staff augmentation for your consideration and to share with decision-makers across the enterprise.
“Whatever your need, be sure to gain a full understanding of your requirements before you begin to interview candidates and look for a partner with proven references and experience. You won’t be sorry!”
Here are four benefits of staff augmentation you can share with your management team:
- Budget and Schedule
While your team may believe that IT staff augmentation is more expensive than doing it yourself, there are many financial benefits and time factors involved. First, you must weigh the value and importance of the projects your in-house team cannot complete or the delays they will incur because they are distracted by this project or by the ongoing needs of the organization. Secondly, you must look at the cost of a prospective IT staff augmentation partner and understand that the right partner will provide Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to ensure that the work is on budget and on time. In this way, you are ensuring that your estimates and plans will be achieved. When a project is approved for in-house execution, it also includes plans but when those plans fall through, there is little you can do to recover. With a partner, you have an agreement that will keep you on track.
- Resource Optimization
Your in-house IT team has a lot of important work to do and they are usually overloaded and find it difficult to complete even the workload they have assigned to them. When you assign a particular project or ongoing technology area to an IT staff augmentation partner, you allow your in-house team to do what they do best. They know your network, your hardware, your in-house software, your environment, your databases and they can use that knowledge to focus on core responsibilities. It is a win-win all around!
- Scalability and Flexibility
IT staff augmentation allows the organization to flex and to increase or decrease resources as the need arises. It allows the business to add different team members and skills as required and ensures that the business will not pay for more than it needs but will always have what it needs to get the job done in an ever-changing environment. IT staff augmentation can be very specific in timing and staffing or it can be flexible. When a business has to hire additional team members to staff a project or to accommodate expansion, and plans or markets change, they must adjust, and all the considerations that go along with hiring will apply (benefits, schedules, space requirements for team members, updated training, etc.). IT staff augmentation provides the ultimate flexibility.
- Knowledge and Skill
IT staff augmentation ensures you will have the skills, knowledge and experience you need to complete a project or to provide ongoing support. If needs change, new skills and team members can provide just what you need, when you need it. Your business does not have to worry about team member downtime for scheduled training classes or waiting for the right team member to become available to complete a particular task.
When confronting confusion or concern over engaging a partner for IT staff augmentation, it is important to be prepared with an overview of the benefits of this approach and how it can help you achieve your goals. Whatever your need, be sure to gain a full understanding of your requirements before you begin to interview candidates and look for a partner with proven references and experience. You won’t be sorry!
“The right partner will provide Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to ensure that the work is on budget and on time.”
Every business deserves a skilled, dependable IT staff augmentation partner. Start here and explore our IT Staff Augmentation Services. Read our White Paper to find out how to select an Offshore Outsourcing Partner.
