The current decade will see the most rapid technological advancements in history: emergence of new technology and faster development of existing technology.
One of the technologies that is expected to grow is the Internet of Things (IoT). Here are a few statistics that support this belief:
— IoT already has generated more than $123 billion by 2021.
— It is believed that the number of active IoT devices will cross 25.4 billion in 2030.
— By the year 2025, there will be 152,200 IoT devices that will be connected to the internet per minute.
— IoT solutions have the capacity to generate $4-11 trillion in economic value by 2025.
IoT has high potential to change a lot of things for us in the future— the start is already there. It promises to make self-driving cars, smart homes, and an effective public transportation system practicable and viable. As a business owner, you can collect data which can be optimally used by your sales team to target clients in the future.
Organizations across the globe are developing technology which is IoT-connected, and to accomplish the difficult task, they are utilizing IT staff augmentation. Let us see how both connect— how can staff augmentation benefit your IoT projects?
What is Staff Augmentation?
IT staff augmentation is an outsourcing strategy you can use to hire skilled tech resources on an external basis to cover the required position in your team permanently or temporarily. As a business owner, you get to choose the right requirement for your work needs— you can extend or cut your augmented team as per your requirement. You can add skilled technical resources to your team on a short or long-term basis.
Let us say you are starting a new project. You will evaluate the project and discuss the same with the staff augmentation vendor. Based on the discussion, you and the vendor agree on what kind of engineers are required to complete the project in the required time. Once the agreement is signed, the required developers are rented to you by a staff augmentation service provider.
Understanding the Scope of IoT
Smart homes have become mainstream in the last couple of years. Products like Google Nest and Amazon Echo gradually help in management of electronic items in their homes through smartphones. In the near future, IoT will modify how governments and businesses operate. As per the data available, in 2022, there will be more than 14.4 billion active connections, and by 2025, the number of active IoT devices may touch 27 billion.
One of the biggest barriers that IoT is facing is that most companies do not know how they can utilize this technology effectively. Companies are making most of it through staff augmentation— they are taking staff from outside and putting them with their permanent team to quickly scale up their competencies.
Understanding the Relation Between Staff Augmentation and the Internet of Things (IoT)
Below are some ways how Staff Augmentation can help your IoT projects:
1. Strategize your IoT Projects
Most business leaders in this area are aware of the fact that hundreds and thousands of IoT devices will gradually be available in the upcoming few years. However, they are unsure if they can capitalize on this upcoming technology and yield profit from it.
Some companies have already figured out what they need to do. For example, retail companies use custom software in order to understand consumer behavior and assemble valuable data and use this data to tailor the online shopping experience of customers. Industrial manufacturers, on the other hand, make use of the technology to forecast maintenance issues and other machine-related issues that will lead to closing down production and thus, reducing revenue. Some companies like Tesla are using IoT technologies to manufacture products, for instance, Tesla is manufacturing self-driving cars.
As a company, if you are not working with IoT, your competitors are most likely doing it. If you want to get started with IoT, you can hire a team through a staff augmentation vendor and strategize your IoT project.
2. Software Development
If you have an idea and a product to develop, you may not have the right talent to create an IoT product. Getting IoT developers is not easy as the demand is high and availability is low. The hiring process which was traditionally used can be problematic as you will have to go through a long process. Getting a qualified candidate can take a month or even more time. Once you hire them, there is no turning back. Hence, many businesses have reached out to companies who are into staff augmentation for their IoT development.
These companies have expertise in getting you the right talent— someone who is perfect for your IoT software development project. They already have a comprehensive list of developers who are well-experienced: they can give you the best candidate to start your development work without any obstruction.
3. Easy Flexibility for Long-term Staff
Staff augmentation has become really popular for IoT projects— one of the reasons being the flexibility it offers in structuring IoT-connected devices. In traditional hiring, you hire dedicated developers for a project and once the project is completed you still need to bear their salary cost.
Today, companies are building IoT projects with a core engineering staff and hiring specialist staff when needed from staff augmentation vendors. Staff augmentation allows the companies to enjoy the much required long-term flexibility. Companies can supply their internal team with ultra-specialized engineers as and when required. They can let them go as soon as the work is over and save money.
4. Expertise at Lower Cost:
IoT projects generally grow fast and require more investment in a dedicated team since the available talent is rare. Hiring an in-house developer for a highly specialized role is not easy and costs a good sum. You can get the best brains at a comparatively lower cost through staff augmentation vendors.
5. You Get an Unbiased Opinion and New Ideas
Often the in-house development team suffers from tunnel vision— they are unable to think of a new idea. There is a lot you can do when you work with IoT projects. Getting temporary staff through staff augmentation gives you an external ‘set of eyes’ you need to make a breakthrough in your IoT project. A fresh viewpoint can easily point out issues in the product you are developing or recommend improvements based on their previous development projects.
Understanding IT Staff Augmentation vs. Managed Services
Another model of IT Outsourcing is Managed IT services. Your company basically outsources the IT procedures to another company through managed IT services.
IT companies must comply with the parameters and specifications set by their parent companies. As a managed service provider, however, IT staffing, project management, and project execution are handled by the company.
When the contract is finalized, both the IT firm and the parent company will decide on the desired final outcome.
In addition to requiring a specific technical output, managed IT services are appropriate for those companies who don’t have the resources to heavily involve themselves in the staffing process. Companies that have long-term, labor-intensive development needs can also benefit from this particular model of outsourcing.
IT Staff Augmentation vs Managed Services— Which One is Better?
It’s vital that you determine what IT outsourcing model is right for your company, as no two companies are exactly alike.
Managed Services is beneficial in following ways:
- Keep Higher Focus on Critical Operations: The parent company does not have to worry about managing IT projects since managed IT services offer their own management processes. Your staff can focus on other operations while the IT company handles technical functions.
- Save Time From Managing IT projects: It will be necessary for you to invest a good amount of time managing IT projects if your company hires in-house IT staff. For a particular project manager to maintain a tight schedule and supervise technology functions effectively, he or she will probably require a good level of working knowledge of the certain project itself. Managed IT services could be a useful solution for companies with limited technical expertise and management resources. They could save both time and money in the long run.
Outsourcing your IT requires you to spend less time and energy recruiting specialists who can develop your products and help your company succeed. Despite this, many companies prefer to supplement their IT staff with IT staff augmentation over managed services because of the level of flexibility and control that comes with it.
You may find more success outsourcing your IT needs than trying to hire in-house IT staff due to the fact that IT outsourcing companies employ some of the best developers, programmers, and coders in the world.
Regardless of the method of IT outsourcing you choose, make sure you choose a reputable company.
Conclusion
Businesses across industries and sizes are going to benefit from IoT. Staff augmentation can assist the businesses to integrate this technology with assurance and confidence. This will help them generate a long-term strategy and eventually brainstorm new products. The complicated technology behind integrating IoT requires deep knowledge, and staff augmentation is the easiest and best way to get it.
