IT Team Extension: Benefits, Challenges, Steps to Extend

Team Extension Overview

Let`s discuss everything you need to know about software development team extension.

IT Team Extension Definition

IT team extension is the temporary employment of developers using another organization's resources. When you augment software development team, the IT staff augmentation company pays salaries and taxes, keeps personnel records, interacts with state authorities, and organizes the work process. As a customer, you get a professional ready to start work anytime.

To put it simply, IT team extension is a kind of rent, but the object of the transaction is not equipment or real estate but an employee and his professional skills. In this case, the IT staff augmentation company is fully responsible for both organizational issues and the final result. As a customer, you may not even cross paths with the hired employee—project managers most often conduct negotiations and work discussions.

How does Development Team Extension work?

For example, let's present an online clothing store planning to expand its business. For this purpose, they want to launch a beautiful and convenient mobile application so customers can browse and order goods anytime. However, to create such a program, they must hire a whole group of professionals, from developers to designers. How do they choose the right employees in such a case? And how do they understand the level of professionalism?

The IT team extension will help to cope with this problem. You apply to a company that allows employees to perform certain tasks and describe your vision for the future project. In the case of an IT team extension, new staff will be another company's employees. You will not have to handle salary, tax payments, or formal employment issues. To explore this further, you can read our article on nearshore team augmentation.

For Whom Team Extension is Profitable?

Developer team extension is used when a company needs an employee for a particular project but has no opportunity to attract a specialist or does not want to spend time looking for one. It can also be caused by unanticipated events when an important employee cannot fulfill his/her duties.

Team extension is profitable for:

• Growing startups
• Established companies
• Enterprises
• Businesses with ongoing projects
• Organizations facing skill gaps
• Companies undertaking complex projects
• Firms seeking cost efficiency

In addition, team extension IT will be helpful for companies that do not legally plan to register their activities in another country at the initial stage. It will also help to get rid of unnecessary office rent and regular expenses and simplify accounting.

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Benefits and Challenges of IT Team Extension

One key benefit of hiring employees through the IT team extension model is savings. You do not need to pay freelancers' salaries and taxes, which can save a lot of money and relieve the accounting department.

Key Benefits of Software Team Extension

There are many advantages of IT team extension:

• Full control. The IT team extension firm continues monitoring the staff's work and developing the task fulfillment process. In this case, you do not lose control over the situation. You can set the required number of hours at any time, assign new tasks, or replace the specialist if they are unsatisfied with the result.
• Reduction of personnel risks. The IT team extension company independently handles sick leave, vacations, and staff leakage. Therefore, you are unlikely to have problems with understaffing — everything has already been done for you.
• Maximum flexibility. Thanks to the IT team extension, increasing or decreasing the team for certain tasks is easier. You need only three employees instead of ten? No problem. You can change the number of employees depending on the amount of work and budget at your discretion. Moreover, the IT staff augmentation pricing model is favorable enough.
• Reducing the number of employees. According to the documents, the real number of employees remains the same, while the staff is reduced. This is important for small companies that want to stay on the simplified taxation system.
• Hiring high-level IT specialists. In-house employees do not always have the right skills to work on a project. Since training programmers take time, hiring a specialist from outside is the best solution.
• Reduced burden on the HR department. It relieves some workloads so that employees can focus on optimization and reorganization.
• Services are constantly available. Unlike outsourcing, specialists on the IT team extension model work from the beginning to the end. As a result, business processes are not stopped at the most inopportune moment.
• Increased efficiency of IT infrastructure. Thanks to the extension of the IT team, it is easier for you to control and plan expenses. There are no inflated costs for personnel and equipment when launching new projects.

Software team extension as a service is provided under an agreement drafted by two parties. As a result, the client receives officially registered employees with high qualifications who are ready to start working. The customer also eliminates tax and social payments. To learn more in detail about what is nearshore vs offshore development, read our article.

Challenges of Team Extension for Business

Here are three main challenges you can encounter:

• Communication barriers: time zone differences and language and cultural differences.
• Integration issues: aligning new members with existing workflows and processes and ensuring effective collaboration and team cohesion.
• Management complexity: coordinating between in-house and extended team members and managing project timelines and deliverables across different locations.

If properly handled, these challenges can be eliminated. By the way, we recommend you read our article about IT staff augmentation trends.

Steps to Extend Your Development Team Successfully

Let's discuss the main steps you need to take to extend your team.

Define Goals and Objectives for Team Extension

Start by precisely defining the goals and objectives for extending your development team. Determine why you need additional resources, whether it’s to meet increased project demands, incorporate specialized skills, or accelerate development timelines. Establish clear outcomes you expect from the team extension to ensure alignment with your overall business strategy.

Identify the Roles and Skill Sets Required

Determine the specific skill sets and roles needed to achieve your defined goals. Evaluate your current team’s capabilities and pinpoint the gaps that need to be filled. Whether you need front-end developers, back-end developers, UX/UI designers, or project managers, having a detailed understanding of the required expertise will streamline the hiring process.

Create Detailed Job Descriptions for Each Role

Create comprehensive job descriptions for each identified role, detailing the necessary skills, experience, and responsibilities. Include specifics about the technologies, tools, and methodologies for the candidates to be proficient. Clear and precise job descriptions help attract suitable candidates and set clear expectations for their contributions to the team.

Choose a Recruiting Method to Grow Your Team

Decide on the most effective recruiting method to find the right talent. Options include leveraging your network, using online job boards, engaging recruitment agencies, or partnering with specialized IT staffing firms. Think about the pros and cons of each approach in terms of cost, time, and the quality of candidates they can provide.

Choose a Reliable Partner Firm that Will Help Expand the Team

Selecting a reliable partner firm is crucial for a successful team extension. Seek out for companies with a proven track record, relevant industry experience, and positive client testimonials. Ensure they comprehend your business requirements and can provide candidates who not only have the right technical skills but also fit well with your corporate culture.

Make a Plan for Communication and Integration of New Employees

Develop a robust plan for integrating new team members and establishing effective communication channels. This includes setting up onboarding processes, defining roles and responsibilities, and ensuring new hires can access the necessary tools and resources. Regular check-ins, clear reporting structures, and fostering a collaborative environment will help new employees integrate smoothly and contribute effectively to your projects.

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How Much Do Software Development Team Extension Services Cost?

First of all, the dev team extension provides a ready-made tool for solving tasks of any complexity. In addition to being a professional employee, the customer gets rid of any problems connected with work organization. At the same time, the company itself will consistently receive professional employees.

Any employee or even a whole department can be transferred to an IT team extension — there are no restrictions. This can be useful when a company cannot conclude a full-time contract with a narrowly focused specialist whose services are needed only to perform certain tasks.

In addition, dev team extension:

• Provides flexibility in managing the staff and its number depending on the actual workload.
• Reduces the financial burden on the company.
• Reduces the risks of unforeseen personnel incidents.

Typical cost examples:

• Small startups or MVP development process. For a small team (e.g., one project manager, two developers, one designer), the monthly cost might be around $10,000 to $20,000.
• Mid-sized projects. The cost might range from $20,000 to $40,000 monthly for a more comprehensive team (e.g., several developers, testers, and designers).
• Enterprise-level projects. A full-scale team, including senior architects, multiple developers, testers, and project managers, can cost upwards of $100,000 monthly.

To get a precise estimate, you can request quotes from our MaybeWorks team, considering the specifics of your project and the expertise required. Engaging with a reputable vendor with a proven performance history can help ensure you get the best value for your investment.

How MaybeWorks Can Help Your IT Team Extension?

MaybeWorks is an IT staff augmentation company that provides temporary employment for experienced IT specialists, from front-end and back-end developers to DevOps.

Our team comprises more than 50 professionals with 12 years of experience in web development and completed 200+ projects for clients worldwide. Each of us is a part of the big MaybeWorks family, proven by time and complex projects.

MaybeWorks main goal is to help small, medium, and even large-sized businesses achieve great results using fewer resources. For this purpose, we offer individual developers and entire teams of specialists who have had time to prove their professionalism and business skills.

Developers from MaybeWorks will be a great addition to your business's existing pool of specialists. By working with us remotely, you'll cut costs and improve your bottom line. Most importantly, there is no contract. You can change or terminate an employee at any time.

Thanks to this, you won't waste time dealing with employee communication issues. Just put the team into the project and get quality service fulfillment.

MaybeWorks provides highly skilled professionals

One of the most important advantages of developers from MaybeWorks is saving time and money. We:

• Provide free support to the technical lead. There will be no situation in which the task will not be performed on time or at all.
• Provide free supervision of an outstaff manager who monitors communication, performance, etc.

You, as a customer:

• Integrate the new developer into your workflow
• Set your own tasks
• Manage their fulfillment

You should agree that fixing a bug in your website or software is better than paying for a few work hours from an experienced specialist than hiring an inexperienced beginner.

MaybeWorks offers cost savings

At MaybeWorks, we offer the same skilled staff cheaper than companies in the USA and Europe. You can get massive savings, considering no office expenses and overtime pay.

MaybeWorks ensures developers can be fired anytime

Our IT staff augmentation model allows businesses to quickly scale their technical workforce without the long-term commitment and overhead associated with full-time hires. MaybeWorks ensures seamless integration of our developers with your projects and team dynamics while maintaining the flexibility to terminate contracts at any time if requirements change or the developer's performance does not meet expectations.

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Conclusion

In outsourcing, the employer orders the performance of a certain service, such as correcting errors on a website or preparing a layout for a future project. As a rule, who will be engaged in the task does not matter. The main thing is the result. The outsourcing company, which provides the employee, provides the workflow and commits to the job, is responsible for it. If the employee responsible for the project quits or goes on vacation, another specialist can take his place.

With software development team extension, the employer does not order a particular service but an employee with the necessary qualifications and work experience. Therefore, the hired employee can work on different tasks that are not necessarily related to one project. As a rule, such work is paid by the hour, not by the total amount of work done.

If you need to augment your development team, we at maybeWorks are ready to help you.

FAQ

1. How does development team extension differ from traditional outsourcing?

   Development team extension involves integrating external developers into your in-house team, providing flexibility and scalability while maintaining control over the project. On the other hand, traditional outsourcing typically involves handing over an entire project to an external provider, who manages the development process independently, often with less direct control and communication from your side.

2. What types of projects are best suited for software development team extension?

   It is best suited for projects requiring specialized expertise, scaling quickly, or involving ongoing development and maintenance. It's ideal for companies looking to enhance their in-house team's capabilities while maintaining control and close collaboration on complex or long-term projects.

3. How should a company determine the need for development team extension?

   Development team extension is needed when the company faces skill gaps, needs to scale its development capacity rapidly, or requires specialized expertise that its in-house team lacks.

4. What are the best practices for sourcing and hiring IT talent for team extension?

   Give preference to vendors with a proven track record and expertise relevant to your project needs. Conduct thorough evaluations through technical assessments, interviews, and reference checks to ensure candidates fit both skill-wise and culturally.

5. What collaboration tools are essential for managing an extended team?

   We recommend Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jira, Trello, GitHub, GitLab, Google Workspace, and Microsoft 365.

6. What metrics should be used to evaluate the success of software development team extension?

   Use metrics such as project delivery timelines, code quality (measured by code reviews and defect rates), and productivity (tracked through completed tasks and milestones) to ensure financial efficiency. Monitor overall project costs versus budget to ensure financial efficiency.