Which Solution is Best for Your Business?
As businesses grow, their internal IT staff may feel overwhelmed by increased workload. This can negatively impact productivity and the quality of products or services. To address these challenges, many businesses are turning to outsourcing options like managed IT services and staff augmentation.
Fortunately, in today’s digital landscape, businesses can supplement their internal teams with external resources.
A wide range of third-party service providers and independent contractors can offer businesses flexible solutions to augment their existing workforce.
Advances in remote work and technology have enabled businesses to access a larger talent pool and collaborate effectively from anywhere.
Depending on their specific needs, businesses can choose between managed services and staff augmentation to enhance their IT capabilities. Let’s explore the key differences, benefits, and potential challenges of each option.
Netcentrix specialises in empowering businesses to achieve their goals through tailored IT solutions, including comprehensive managed IT services.
If you would like to explore how we could be of assistance to your business, speak to a Netcentrix expert today.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at managed services vs staff augmentation, and which you should be considering for your business.Â
What are Managed Services and Staff Augmentation?
Managed services are outsourced solutions provided by third-party experts. These services handle various business functions, ensuring continuity and optimising operations.
A significant advantage of managed services is their ability to address long-term business challenges without requiring additional in-house staff. Managed service providers work closely with businesses to deliver solutions while maintaining a remote working relationship. This not only reduces costs but also provides peace of mind and allows businesses to focus on their core competencies.
A third-party provider, such as Netcentrix, takes responsibility for a business’s IT infrastructure management and support (more on the advantages of this in a moment).
Staff augmentation, on the other hand, is the process in which a business hires external workers, often freelance talent, on a temporary basis to boost the efforts of their existing team. This happens for numerous reasons, but most often to help deal with particularly stressful and busy periods, or to utilise specialist knowledge which is lacking within the existing team for a specific project.
Staff augmentation can be very cost-effective as it allows businesses to pay on a per-hour or per-project basis, which always works out cheaper than hiring full-time staff. However, this method is only effective in the short term. Long-term staff augmentation would be far more expensive and could even work out more expensive than hiring a new staff member full-time.
Managed IT Services: Pros and Cons
Pros
Greater Pool of Knowledge, Skills and Expertise
Third-party providers offering managed IT services are confident in doing so because their teams are comprised of individuals with a very broad base of skills, experience and knowledge. This offers businesses in need a greater chance of being able to solve complex IT-related issues far quicker than having a single in-house IT specialist, or by onboarding a temporary member of staff via staff augmentation, whose knowledge will be more limited.
Better still, many managed IT service providers can use remote monitoring to observe a business’s IT systems autonomously. They can spot and solve technical hitches quickly and easily thanks to their increased knowledge, without the business they serve needing to get involved at all.
By opting for managed IT services, businesses are giving themselves the best chance of staying on track and reducing downtime which, if left in the hands of less-suitable candidates, could prove to be very costly.
Training is Not Necessary
Whether you’re onboarding a new full-time staff member or opting for a temporary new starter through staff augmentation, a degree of training will always be required to ensure this person can deal with the systems and ways of working the business operates under. But training can be expensive, as well as time-consuming; time that could be better spent pushing the business forward. This wouldn’t be the case with managed IT services, though. These experts are already well-versed in the technologies and methods modern businesses use because they are charged with finding ways to improve on such technologies and methods. This saves a business time while also raising productivity sooner.
Wider Choice of Technologies Without Needing to Purchase Them Outright
Businesses often assume that to take advantage of the latest and greatest technology they need to invest vast sums of cash. If a business brings in a new starter via staff augmentation, this individual may even suggest the usage of such technologies, leading businesses to make unnecessarily large purchases only to focus on short-term goals.
However, with managed IT services, businesses can open themselves up to a realm of useful technologies and services provided by the third party – without the need to purchase them outright.
Instead, businesses can consolidate all their IT needs into a single subscription with such a provider, breaking the cost down into affordable monthly payments, instead of spending a fortune upfront. These contracts can also be altered when necessary to meet shifting business needs, again saving cash without the need for large investments.
Better Business Focus
When businesses need to dedicate more time to pressing issues amongst their team internally, other areas of the business will undoubtedly suffer as team members spend less time focussing on their usual duties and more on the matter at hand. This can create an unsatisfactory working environment when IT-related issues keep appearing regularly, with in-house staff struggling to juggle both responsibilities.
But when these responsibilities are passed on to an external party, such as a third-party managed IT services provider, pressure is instantly alleviated.
This way, businesses can leave matters that are technically challenging, time-consuming or consistently appearing in the hands of experienced professionals trained to deal with such issues. As such, individuals within a business can focus more of their efforts on staying productive and driving business growth.
Can Fill The Gap Left By Leavers
When staff members leave a business unexpectedly, it can cause certain elements to stall, which could have wider negative ramifications on the business as a whole.
In the case of IT, if an IT manager, technician or administrator suddenly hands in their resignation, businesses can suffer with no qualified members of staff to deal with the issues this person solved. Not only that, but other members of staff who feel obligated to step in and help can find themselves drawn away from their usual duties, which will also suffer as a result.
When this occurs, managed IT services can be brought in to help tackle the issue on a long-term basis, without the need to hire a new member of staff.
By harnessing the skills and knowledge they’ve accrued over years in the industry, and by adapting to and understanding a business’s way of working, managed IT providers can sometimes offer an even greater depth of knowledge and expertise than in-house staff, immediately filling the gap caused by their absence.
Cons
Security Concerns
Because managed IT service providers often need to connect to a business’s systems directly, there is a concern that giving an external party access to sensitive business data could heighten the chances of a security breach.
But these fears are unfounded.
Experienced managed IT service providers, like Netcentrix, are trusted by many businesses and are highly trained in protecting data, ensuring it does not fall into the hands of cybercriminals. As part of their service offerings, they are also often well-versed in all recent compliance laws and regulations, such as GDPR, meaning they can be trusted to handle data responsibly.
Potential Communication Issues
Some businesses prefer to keep all their resources in-house to ensure clear and concise communication. This is understandable. But in the case of veteran managed IT service providers, communication has always been at the heart of their offerings.
Experienced in working and communicating with businesses of all kinds, most managed IT service providers are reachable within a moment’s notice when their expertise is required.
For example, at Netcentrix, you’ll be assigned a dedicated account manager who will act as your first port-of-call and can offer reliable advice and assistance on a whole host of issues. Even if you need help during unusual hours, Netcentrix technical experts are available to chat with 24 hours a day, so you’ll never be trapped without the knowledge you need to progress.
Staff Augmentation: Pros and Cons
Pros
Flexibility and Choice
Staff augmentation allows businesses to explore a wider talent pool to partner with than managed IT services, which can be useful on a temporary basis in which select skills are needed within a limited timeframe.
Although staff augmentation can expand the talent pool available to businesses, it also carries risks. Some individuals may exaggerate their skills or experience, leading to disappointment and potential problems. It’s important to carefully vet candidates and verify their credentials before hiring.
A managed IT service provider has the staff, experience and reviews to back up its claims and is also home to Service Level Agreements (SLAs). A service level agreement guarantees any business partnering with managed services provides a minimum level of service, offering peace of mind.
Individualised Skills
If an IT-related project requires someone with a hyper-specific skillset and experience, utilising staff augmentation may be a useful way to seek these individuals out. However, those with very individualised skills may be lacking in other areas in which the business requires assistance.
This is where managed IT services hold the advantage. Because these third-party companies are made up of a group of talent with a wide background in IT, there is always likely someone who can deal with any IT-related issues a business could be facing. Whereas an individual may be highly proficient in one area whilst completely inexperienced in another.
Cons
Only Suitable in the Short Term
The very nature of paying staff brought on board via staff augmentation – per hour or per project – limits them to short-term stays only. This accomplishes nothing for those businesses that require consistent, reliable and far-reaching assistance with their IT.
Managed IT services taken on a rolling contract can assist businesses continuously until the agreement is ended.
Training is Required
Again, needing to offer new starters considerable training before they’re able to begin their roles can be costly and time-consuming for a business, which is almost always the case in staff augmentation. Because managed IT providers are already highly skilled and experienced, and sit outside of the internal parameters of a business, there’s no need for training.
Can be Expensive
Those brought into a business through staff augmentation are usually self-employed freelancers who set their own rates. They often charge several hundred pounds per hour, or thousands per project, which would work out to be ridiculously expensive in the long term.
Managed IT service providers charge a reasonable monthly fee, though, making them the best choice for those seeking to access skilled and experienced talent while also saving cash.
Lack of Integration within a Team
When new employees join a team, there’s often an adjustment period. However, there’s also a risk of misalignment or conflicts with existing team members, which can negatively impact the business.
Managed IT services, on the other hand, are external, and mostly work independently, negating the chance of clashes between their staff and the staff of the businesses they serve.
Discover the Benefits of Managed IT Services with Netcentrix
Are you looking to optimise your IT operations and drive business success? Managed IT services offer numerous advantages over short-term solutions. By partnering with Netcentrix, you can:
- Boost productivity: Streamline IT processes and reduce downtime.
- Relieve internal staff: Free up your team to focus on core business activities.
- Get expert IT support: Access quick, reliable, and remote technical assistance.
- Stay up-to-date: Benefit from the latest technology and best practices.
- Save money: Reduce IT costs and improve efficiency.
- Enhance security: Protect your business from cyber threats.
- Leverage cloud solutions: Embrace cloud-based technologies for scalability and flexibility.
Contact Netcentrix today to learn more about how our managed IT services can help your business thrive.
