Choosing the right model to use for your next engagement (e.g., staff augmentation vs. managed services) with an external vendor can be tricky, but Dualboot Partners is here to share our insider knowledge and help you break it all down to a set of simple, easy-to-follow recommendations.
In this short article, we will use IT staff augmentation as our baseline and compare it with the most common alternatives. Our goal here is to identify the optimal set of starting conditions where staff augmentation truly shines and lets you achieve your business goals with maximum efficiency.
Side-by-Side Comparison: Staff Augmentation, Managed Services, and Other Delivery Models
To make things easier for the reader, we’ve compiled a detailed table that helps see the difference between managed services and staff augmentation, outsourcing, dedicated teams, and other approaches to staffing software projects.
| Aspect | Staff augmentation (offshore) Example: BairesDev, Deel |
Staff augmentation (nearshore)
Example: Dualboot Partners |
Dedicated team
Example: Dualboot Partners |
Product outsourcing | Managed service
Example: GorillaLogic |
Freelance platform Example, Remotely, Toptal |
Direct hire |
| Top advantage | Significant cost savings on hourly rates | Direct control over resources with minimal time zone challenges and better cultural alignment | Self-managed, fully dedicated team | Full responsibility for deliverables is on the vendor | Comprehensive service with defined SLAs | Quick access to specific skills on-demand | Full integration with company culture and processes |
| Top disadvantage | Time zone and communication challenges | Somewhat higher costs compared to offshore options | Longer ramp-up period | Limited direct control over the development process | Higher costs due to service complexity and overhead | Inconsistent availability and quality | Long recruitment process and high upfront costs |
| Main purpose | Cost-effective in-house team expansion | Quickly scaling existing teams with external talent | Long-term software development capacity | Complete project delivery with minimal or no involvement by the client | Ongoing maintenance and support with guaranteed service levels | Short-term specialized tasks or quick project delivery | Building long-term internal capabilities |
| Control and management | Full control but requires significant coordination efforts | Full control over daily tasks and management | Shared with the vendor’s management | Limited to milestone and deliverable approval | Vendor-managed with clear performance metrics | Direct control but minimal support from the service provider | Complete organizational control |
| Engagement duration | Flexible, typically 6+ months | Flexible, typically 3-12 months | 12+ months | Fixed project timeline | Long-term contract, typically 24+ months | Short-term, project-based | Permanent employment |
| Cost implications | Lowest rates but higher management overhead | Mid-range rates with moderate overhead costs | Fixed monthly team cost | Fixed project cost with potential change orders | Premium pricing for guaranteed service levels | Variable rates with platform fees | Highest total cost including benefits and overhead |
| Flexibility | High adaptability with some communication overhead | Very high adaptability to changing project needs | Medium with team size adjustments | Low flexibility once requirements are approved and locked | Moderate within defined service parameters | High flexibility but dependent on individual availability | High flexibility within employee’s skill set |
When Staff Augmentation Checks All The Boxes
As you can see in the table above, the most popular approaches to staffing software development projects differ mostly in terms of the level of control the hiring party has, the responsibility for the final result, and flexibility for ad hoc changes and adaptations.
Since we are primarily interested in comparing staff augmentation vs. outsourcing and other commonplace models, let’s describe potential situations where staff augmentation clearly wins over all other options.
Missing project-critical skills
Arguably the most frequent reason for hiring external IT personnel, the absence of niche expertise and corresponding specialists is a clear case for staff augmentation.
For example, projects with a focus on AI may require a few highly specific roles that many companies typically don’t have on the payroll: data engineers, analysts, and scientists, to name just a few.
Reliable vendors like Dualboot Partners have access to a diverse pool of engineering and non-engineering talent and are instrumental in matching the right people with the client’s project needs. This ability proves to be crucial in innovative projects based on a broad tech stack.
Inability to source the required talent locally
Hiring locally (either for in-house or remote work) can be challenging for a number of reasons, such as:
- Lack of suitable candidates in the market
- Excessively long hiring periods
- Budget limitations and ample hiring costs
- Inability to commit to long-term employment
Recruitment fees can add 15-30% of an annual salary for specialized roles, especially when using third-party agencies. — Eddy.com
Staff augmentation efficiently addresses these issues by expanding the scope of candidate search to various geographies, dramatically lowering hiring costs, and allowing flexible resource assignments.
Need for temporary team acceleration to meet a deadline
Thanks to the model’s flexibility, the necessary resources can be quickly onboarded when their involvement is required and let go when their job is done.
Ad hoc resource elasticity proves to be very helpful in time-sensitive projects and project rescue missions like the one that Dualboot Partners completed for flyExclusive.
Questions to Ask Your Vendor Before Making a Decision
It is typically the vendor’s task to thoroughly analyze your requirements, assess your situation, and suggest the most suitable engagement option.
Being informed and well-versed in possible options is always a good thing — you can spot false promises from the get-go, prevent misunderstandings that may cost you time and money in the future, and pick a vendor who can follow through on their commitments.
Ben Gilman
CTO at Dualboot Partners
Having worked with countless clients over the years, we have compiled a list of key questions you will want to ask potential vendors:
- Do you have a minimal duration commitment for staff augmentation?
- How long does it take you to put together a team of 5 FTEs?
- Do we have to interview and hand-pick all candidates on our own?
- What time zone will my extended team be working in?
- What’s the process for adding and removing team members?
- Will the team be coordinated by anyone on your end, and will I receive a single point of contact for team-related questions?
- Do you use subcontractors?
- Will my IP be reliably protected?
Have the same questions for us or want to learn more about what Dualboot Partners offers in the staff augmentation department?
