Scaling a business requires bringing the right talent to the team. However, balancing cost and growth is tough, and some companies might hesitate to recruit new hires. These days, companies turn to the SaaS model to augment their existing team to manage hiring risks better.
In this article, we’ll explain what Team as a Service is and how it benefits your business. More importantly, we explore ways to partner with the right TaaS provider.
What is Team as a Service?
Team as a Service (TaaS) is an outsourcing model that allows you to extend your team’s capability without going through the conventional hiring process. The TaaS approach is similar to assembling a software team from scratch, except an external service provider does it for you. Think of TaaS as bringing in football players on loan instead of signing them up and paying hefty contract fees.
Sounds interesting, but how does Team as a Service work?
Team as a Service is similar, yet unlike the conventional outsourcing model. Most companies outsource their software development needs by contracting them to freelancers or IT agencies. But TaaS works differently. Instead of relinquishing control to an external agency, you onboard a TaaS team into your company. The TaaS team then operates according to your workflow, either on-premise or remotely.
For example, clients come to us with specific project needs. Some of them have an existing team managing and implementing software development processes. They prefer working with an extended team that could complement their in-house capability. We take note of their in-house processes, skills, and urgency concerns to assemble the best team to address their immediate and long-term goals.
TaaS VS In-House Hiring
It’s also essential to differentiate TaaS from in-house hiring. With TaaS, service providers like Uptech do the heavy lifting for you. We scout for IT talents, interview them and train them to work synergically in a team. While doing that, we’re conscious of your company culture and strive to align the TaaS squad with your existing developers.
Ultimately, you decide the type and size of the TaaS team you wish to engage. Notably, every company has different needs, which evolve over time.
For example, you can start with a small software team specializing in e-commerce to develop a new shopping app. As your customer base increases, we can help you to expand your TaaS team by enrolling additional developers or bringing in new teams to support your growth on other platforms. Likewise, you can downscale the TaaS team when you no longer need a large capacity.
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What other services do TaaS companies provide?
The Team as a Service model often involves contracting a dedicated team to support a business’s IT needs. At Uptech, we provide businesses with TaaS teams that comprise:
- Mobile & web app developers;
- UI/UX designers;
- Database engineers;
- QA testers;
- Project managers.
This model is gaining popularity as many businesses are undergoing rapid digital transformation.
However, the same approach is also applicable to other business needs, such as customer support, marketing, and content creation. The point is, TaaS is an effective strategy to expand your business’s capacity seamlessly.
How does TaaS benefit my business?
Many companies worldwide are engaging external service teams in different business areas. According to Statista, software development is the top outsourced IT service. Organizations turn to the TaaS model for various reasons, but here’s how it might benefit you.
Flexibility and scalability
Choosing the TaaS model provides room to maneuver that traditional hiring methods couldn’t. For a start, your choice of talents expands beyond geographic boundaries. Some skills are scarce in certain countries but readily available in others. Instead of scouting them in unfamiliar territories, you turn to a TaaS provider. You can also specify your budget and other technical requirements to help the TaaS company assemble suitable candidates for you.
Control
TaaS allows you complete control over the project direction, ongoing progress, and candidate selection. From the beginning, we involved our client to ensure no requirements were overlooked. Once the TaaS team joins your company, you’ll have the full authority to coordinate their tasks while we take on administrative duties.
Transparency
TaaS gives you complete oversight of the contracted team. No intermediary agents are involved in your daily dealings and communication with the TaaS team. With TaaS, you manage the developers, testers, project managers, or other roles as if they’re part of your in-house team. That way, you’re immediately alerted of any concerns in their tasks.
Adaptability and focus
A TaaS team, also known as a dedicated team, commits totally to your business. There are no concerns about distractions, such as taking on projects from other clients, as with conventional outsourcing. If you’re in a tight race against time, a TaaS team will comfortably get your product to the finish line.
Simplified and cost-friendly hiring
The team as a service model proves less expensive than recruiting permanent staff. You don’t need to run job ads, interviews, onboarding, and training that conventional recruitment does. The model also spares you from renting spaces, purchasing hardware, or licensing, as these are born by the TaaS company. Your only commitment is paying the team the salary throughout the contracted period.
Looks good, but how much does it cost to hire a TaaS team?
It depends on where the TaaS service provider and their talents originate from. Talents from developed countries will likely cost more than those hired from Asia or Eastern Europe.
For example, you pay an average of $135 per hour if your TaaS developers work in the US. Western European developers’ fees vary according to countries, but expect a fee from $50 to $200 per hour. The expensive cost of hiring in such countries might exceed the budget of many growing businesses. Meanwhile, hiring similarly skilled talents in Eastern Europe costs an average of $45 per hour.
The fee drops further if you hire TaaS teams from China and other Asia countries, but price shouldn’t be your sole consideration. Indian developers charge between $15 and 40 per hour, and their Chinese counterparts $25 per hour. While the lower rate seems attractive, language and cultural differences make collaboration more challenging.
Here's a sneak peek at the offshore software development rates in the most popular outsourcing destinations and handy tips on how to reduce the price!
What other factors should I consider when choosing a TaaS team?
You should consider these other factors before partnering with a TaaS company.
Cultural Fit
Talents in different countries are influenced by their respective work culture, and some might not assimilate well with your company. For example, your team might emphasize direct and open feedback, while developers in some countries prefer subtleness.
Language
We assume that English is your preferred communication language. Despite being highly skilled in their respective domain, some talents are not fluent in English or your preferred language. You might face challenges assigning tasks, explaining roles, or conducting team meetings if language is a barrier.
Tech and Industry Expertise
Every business and software project requires a team comprising talents with different skill sets and experience. Choose a team of developers with relevant experience and expertise that fits your project needs.
Is Team as a Service the right choice for me?
Many organizations choose Team as a Service solution for different reasons. Some hope to extend their team without the typical complications of traditional hiring models. Meanwhile, others might be attracted to the cost-friendly service options from abroad. Regardless of others’ motivation, you should be clear about your company’s position before searching for TaaS providers.
Answer these questions to understand better if Team as a Service is a fitting model for your business.
- Do you lack the specific technical expertise to complete a project?
- Is your IT team at full capacity and unable to take on new developments?
- Do you wish to scale your technological capacity quickly with minimum risks?
- Are you facing immense difficulties landing the right talents locally?
- Is hiring cost an immediate concern in your growth strategy?
- Does lack of control in typical outsourcing approaches bother you?
- Do you need a fresh perspective on your internal workflow?
If you answer yes to one or more of the above questions, adopting the Team as a Service model is likely the right decision. And this brings us to the next part – matching your business with the many TaaS providers.
Tell me more about the process of recruiting a TaaS team
You need to follow a series of steps to ensure you’re onboarding a TaaS team that adds value to your business. Here’s how it goes.
1. Define your project goals
List your business requirements, whether developing a new app, introducing new features, or expanding technical support for existing solutions. This helps the TaaS provider define roles and the skills the candidates need — for example, backend developers experienced in Node.JS and Typescript.
2. Search for Team as a Service providers
Start searching for outsourcing companies that offer Team as a Service solutions. Google is an excellent place to start, or you can turn to forums or social media like LinkedIn for more options. Also, service aggregator sites like Clutch provide comprehensive details like cost, technical capabilities, and experience of respective TaaS outsourcing agencies.
3. Compare testimonials
Businesses need to do their due diligence before shortlisting TaaS agencies. Read testimonials from past clients to ensure the candidates have a solid track record of providing exceptional services. Look out for red flags, such as communication issues and fee disputes, to avoid making the wrong choices.
4. Interview the provider
Talk to the project manager to understand the team structure. Take the opportunity to discuss relevant past projects, business understandings, and communication styles.
5. Hire and onboard the TaaS team
Once you’ve found the right team, officiate the partnership with a mutually-agreeable contract. Then, onboard the TaaS team to your organization and introduce them to your product or supervising manager.
Uptech – Your Trusted Team as a Service Partner
Over the years, we have provided Team as a Service solutions to numerous businesses. With TaaS, we helped companies like yours reduce time and cost while providing top software talents that work seamlessly with in-house teams. We took care of the recruitment and necessary infrastructure so that our clients could focus on building and scaling business solutions.
These are some of our best works, where clients leverage our in-house tech capabilities.
- GOAT is an online retail platform that serves more than 30 million customers in 170 countries. We put together a team to develop the m-commerce app for both Android and iOS.
- Aspiration is a financial app that supports charitable causes. Our team to the idea from scratch and turned it into an engaging app with active participation from the founders.
- Nomad is a real-estate app that provides a personalized house-buying experience. We helped Nomad’s team address customers' pain points with a visually pleasing and intuitive app.
Summary
Shortened time to market, rising costs, and talent scarcity are some challenges that companies must address to remain competitive in today’s business realities. The Team as a Service model proves to be a reliable recruitment alternative for offloading software development needs to a trusted provider. We’ve shown you key considerations to take into account when choosing a TaaS provider.
We’re ready to clear your doubts and help you make the wisest choice.