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The Importance of IT Staff Augmentation

What does your typical workday look like? Maybe it includes looking through your emails, working on some documents, participating in a few virtual meetings, and calling your partners. Have you ever noticed that most of the things you do during a normal workday requires some form of technology? Now think about what it takes to keep all of this technology running smoothly.

From performing maintenance to overseeing your cybersecurity, your IT department works behind the scenes so everyone else in the company can do their job uninterrupted. This work is not just complex, but also requires a lot of time, effort, and resources. While your IT team may be capable, projects can quickly pile up and leave your department feeling overwhelmed.

What Does Staff Augmentation Mean?

When IT departments become overwhelmed and need to scale up, they turn to staff augmentation. Also known as hybrid managed IT or co-managed IT, staff augmentation is an outsourced IT strategy that gives you access to talented IT specialists. It blends the convenience and strategic advantages of an internal IT department with the support and comprehensive knowledge of a managed services provider (MSP).

How Does Staff Augmentation Work?

If you’re familiar with managed IT services, then you know it’s a solution where an MSP provides IT experts to handle the management of your infrastructure. This is a useful offering for any organization that lacks an in-house IT staff. But what if you already have an internal IT department?

It doesn’t really make sense to pay for managed services when you have your own team, but it does make sense to provide support when your staff needs it. Like managed IT, staff augmentation still supplies you with IT experts. However, instead of fully taking over the management of your systems, they act as an extension of your existing team. Not only does this grant you the flexibility to scale your operations, but it also allows you to choose what you want your internal team to focus on.

Why Use Staff Augmentation?

Organizations from around the world rely on co-managed IT to meet the demands of their business. It’s a popular service because it has a variety of applications. Here’s why you may want to consider using hybrid IT for your own needs:

  • IT Staffing: There’s a growing demand for IT specialists, but the talent pool isn’t very deep as of January 2022. If you’re looking to hire experienced technicians as of right now, you’re going to have a difficult time. Staff augmentation gives you access to experienced IT people without having to go through the hiring process.
  • Support: An overwhelmed IT department is a good justification for hiring additional staff, but that can cost a lot of money. By partnering with an MSP, you can take some of the burden off your internal team.
  • Knowledge Gap: MSPs consist of a group of experts with different skills. If you need a technician with a certain skill set, but no one on your internal team has that skill, you can rely on your MSP.
  • Objectivity: If you’ve tried improving your infrastructure, but don’t seem to be making any progress, then you may need an outside opinion. Your MSP looks at your environment objectively and identifies issues you may have missed.

The Difference Between Staff Augmentation vs. Consulting

The ultimate goal of staff augmentation is to assist your IT department by managing your infrastructure and aligning it to your business objectives. In a way, this may sound similar to IT consultation because the goal is essentially the same. However, it’s the way these services accomplish this feat that make them different.

When you have an MSP perform consulting duties, they are actively working with you to maximize the potential of your environment. This is done by creating a roadmap for you to follow and offering recommendations where applicable. With staff augmentation, the technicians your MSP provides actually perform the work along with your department.

Experience the Benefits of Staff Augmentation

Blue Net is an industry leading MSP based in the Twin Cities area. For almost two decades, we’ve been helping businesses overcome their IT challenges with reliable IT solutions. Contact us today to learn about our comprehensive services.

Blue Net

Blue Net

Blue Net is a Twin Cities managed service provider that can take charge of your technology. Blue Net is your strategic technology partner, delivering first-class, client-focused services and support. Our team stays on top of the latest technology and business trends to help companies meet and exceed their IT needs. We help you not only reach your business goals but redefine them.