Staff augmentation is the process of strengthening a business by offering support services through augmented expert teams. Here, we’ll discuss offshore staff augmentation in IT and what nobody tells you about it.
IT services are not limited to a single industry or certain types of businesses. A startup needs technology as much as a multinational company or a Fortune 500 firm. Similarly, a manufacturing enterprise uses technology just like a healthcare center, restaurant, or media house. While some organizations have in-house tech teams, others prefer a more cost-effective approach. They rely on IT staff augmentation companies to manage their tech needs. The staff augmentation services can be provided onshore, nearshore, and offshore.
Offshore staff augmentation in IT has been in demand for years. Statistics show that the offshore software development market is expected to reach $389.7 billion by 2033. North America continues to hold a dominant market share in offshore IT and software development with $46.2 billion, which is 38.5% of the global market in 2023. Additionally, over 66% of US companies outsource at least one department to benefit from staff augmentation services. In this blog, we’ll understand how offshore IT staffing works and the benefits it provides. We’ll also look at the hidden challenges and ways to overcome them effectively by partnering with a reliable IT staff augmentation company.
Offshore is the term used to refer to service providers located on a different continent or across the seas from the client’s businesses. For example, an American business that hires an Asian or European service provider is said to be working with an offshore company.
Offshore staff augmentation is the process of hiring an external team located in far away country to perform the required tasks for the business. The external employees can work independently or collaborate with existing in-house teams. They work remotely but follow the same timings as the client to be accessible when necessary. Offshore IT services can be temporary staffing solutions or for the long-term. They can be project-based, time-based, or expertise-based.
While each offshore staff augmentation company has a different approach, the steps are more or less similar to the ones listed below:
The main features of IT staff augmentation services are as follows:
The best feature of offshore staff augmentation is cost efficiency. Implementing the full-scale hiring process is time-consuming and requires thousands of dollars. Moreover, the selected candidates could leave the job after a few months for various reasons. Then, the whole process has to be initiated again. Whereas with staff augmentation, you pay the service provider based on your contract terms. For example, businesses opt for hourly rates for small projects and can choose to pay monthly salaries for long-term projects. You can use the estimator tool to know how much it will cost. Moreover, additional employee benefits are provided by the IT staff augmentation company and not the client.
Businesses have more flexibility in managing their activities and projects. For example, you can expand an internal team by adding experts from outside to work on specific tasks. The augmented team members can be replaced if you are not happy with the results. You can change the staff augmentation package by upgrading or downgrading the requirements. A team will be created based on your budget and time constraints.
Another noteworthy feature of offshore staffing contract is the access to global talent. You don’t have to limit your human resources to people within the region or those from neighboring countries. You can hire an expert from the other side of the world and ensure your project gets the best results. Offshore staff augmentation eliminates geographical borders. This lets you attract the best talent to your organization without worrying about recruiting costs and other concerns.
Remote working has become a norm in today’s world, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic. Employees from different locations use online platforms for video conferences, meetings, and real-time project management. Cloud-based tools simplify collaborations and provide authorized access to employees. Employees can either work in real-time or catch up with the developments/ updates when they log in on the platform. This is convenient and hassle-free.
Offshore staffing gives you the freedom to decide which tasks to delegate to the external teams. For example, some organizations might assign complex tasks to experts from outside. Others might prefer to hand over recurring activities to the outside teams and keep the core processes in-house. Both alternatives have their own advantages. The right choice depends on your business vision, objectives, budget, and growth plans. For example, startups might find it easier to access experts through offshore staff augmentation services.
Specialized skills or dedicated teams are offshore staff augmentation solutions where professionals with niche domain experience are hired temporarily to work on certain projects (or parts of a project). For example, you need a data scientist with ten years of experience for three months. You can add them to your team by approaching an AI and IT staff augmentation company. The data scientist will deliver the expected services and leave the team after their job is complete.
You aren’t just bringing new professionals into your business. You are also gaining fresh and different perspectives through them. This allows your team to look at the project in various ways. It boosts creativity and innovation. Business problems can be solved more effectively by considering them in a new light. Moreover, employees from staff augmentation companies are used to working with different people and have a wider range of experience, which can help your business.
While using an offshore augmented team is helpful in several ways, you should be aware of the challenges and know how to overcome them. So, what are the hidden challenges of managing an offshore IT team? How can you minimize these concerns and maximize the benefits?
Let’s find out below.
Offshore teams have professionals from different cultures with various native languages. This can result in miscommunication or friction due to cultural differences. However, these concerns can be avoided by working with reputed offshore IT staff augmentation companies with English-speaking team members. An experienced professional would be aware of cultural differences and communicate accordingly.
When service providers are located on the other side of the world, businesses may worry about waiting until the experts are ready to log in. After all, each region belongs to a different time zone. That’s why offshore staff augmentation in IT offers 24*7 services. They have teams for different time zones so that clients don’t have to wait. Moreover, project management software and collaboration tools ensure no piece of update is lost. Employees can work together despite being in time zones.
Employment laws, data security, privacy regulations, etc., can vary from one region to another. This can cause legal complications and may even result in lawsuits if proper steps are not taken. When hiring offshore staff augmentation companies, you should make sure the service provider understands the laws in your region and adheres to them. Discuss the constraints openly and include them in the contract agreement.
Who pays external employees their salary? Which company provides them with employment benefits like insurance, tax support, HR support, and so? Fortunately, most offshore IT staffing companies have clear pricing models to address these questions. Choose a service provider with transparent and honest communication. It shows their credibility and eliminates the risk of hidden payments or last-minute additions to the budget.
Another challenge of working with offshore companies is the use of resources and the extent of control over the project. What if the staff augmentation company is not offering its best talent? What if you feel as if your project is no longer aligned with your goals? Both extremes are risky and must be avoided. A balance is possible when you work with an experienced and trustworthy IT staff augmentation company. Check the testimonials by other clients before making your decision.
Offshore staff augmentation in IT is popular and one of the widely used business models because of the range of advantages it offers. Here’s how you can benefit from the process:
Offshore staff augmentation is not a single model. It doesn’t follow the one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, depending on your budget, timeline, and requirements, you can choose a model and customize it as well.
The offshore staffing process is designed to ensure the client has access to remote resources around the clock. That way, irrespective of the time zones, the teams can collaborate and work on the project. It keeps things moving steadily. This is highly effective in completing the product development within the timeline. Even for continuous and repetitive tasks, 24*7 access makes it possible to stay one step ahead of competitors and be proactive about market opportunities.
Time is a crucial resource in today’s world. Businesses cannot afford to have delays and setbacks, especially when releasing new products and services into the market. Offshore IT staff augmentation can accelerate time to market and speed up the production cycle. With experts handling the project, everything will be streamlined using advanced technology. There will be enough time to test the product and make it as error-free as possible before launching it.
Since businesses have to ensure diversity and inclusivity in their workforce, they can partner with offshore staff augmentation companies to hire people from different cultures and marginal communities. For example, experts from South Asia are people of color. More women can be hired as remote team members. Professionals with disabilities can also work remotely and share their expertise with businesses despite living in far-off lands. Offshore staffing makes it easier to increase DEI at the workplace.
Offshore teams can provide a good mix of fresh blood and experienced talent to bring greater innovation and creativity into the organization. Moreover, IT staff augmentation companies work with several clients and have vast project portfolios. This makes them efficient in dealing with different industry guidelines and standards. They can think outside the box and come up with new ideas to improve your business processes, products, and services.
Working with employees from another region reduces the risk of political uncertainties and social situations. That’s why many enterprises have offshore units in more than one country. They can continue production and shipping even if an unexpected crisis occurs in one region. Of course, managing external factors is tricky and may not always be possible. However, other risk factors like raw material management, supply chain, logistics, talent management, etc., can also be effectively handled.
Businesses that partner with certified offshore staff augmentation companies can be assured of quality services with regulatory compliance. For example, DataToBiz has ISO certification as well as SOC 2 certification for data security. Similarly, you should choose service providers who are certified partners of tech giants like Microsoft, Google, AWS, IBM, Redhat, etc., to gain access to the latest tools, technologies, and applications in the ecosystem. This ultimately results in high-quality products and services.
We can conclude that offshore staff augmentation in IT can support a business in several ways and strengthen its processes through cost-effective solutions. A growing startup or an established enterprise, every organization can use offshore IT services and augment the in-house teams to achieve their goals.
With effective offshore staffing, you can optimize resources, reduce overall costs, and speed up development. Additionally, it promotes better collaboration and increases the chances of success. Talk to our experts for more information.
Offshore staff augmentation services are flexible, scalable, customized, and effective in helping an organization streamline its activities without incurring heavy expenses. It takes less than a week for the augmented teams to start working for the business. Reputed offshore staff augmentation companies can support an enterprise in becoming an industry leader.
Check out the below links to learn more.
You can ensure better collaborations across different time zones by using asynchronous communication tools (emails, messages, project management software, etc.) and maintaining transparency about work timings, culture, etc. Communication is the key to preventing issues.
You can retain control over offshore staff augmentation projects by staying in regular touch with the assigned project manager and discussing the details clearly. Know the strengths and weaknesses of the team. Make sure the timeline is realistic. Use technology for collaboration and communication. Maintain proper records and track the project.
An offshore IT staff augmentation company can cut costs without compromising quality by providing access to advanced technology and human talent for budget-friendly prices. You don’t have to buy the software. Instead, the experts you hire will automatically use their tools to work on your projects.
Well, almost every IT job from entry-level to top-level can be outsourced to offshore staff augmentation companies. The choice depends on you. From software development to AI engineering, data science, data analytics, and much more, you can bring in an experienced professional through staff augmentation.
Fact checked by –
Akansha Rani ~ Content Creator & Copy Writer
