Pros and Cons of IT Outstaffing Model: Is It Right for Your Business?

What is Outstaffing in Web Development and How Does It Work?

The outstaffing model is the process of hiring remote developers to temporarily scale your in-house team up for a specific project with the expertise your internal tech team doesn’t have. It is also used to hire additional workforce to accelerate software project development. Although companies can hire freelance developers for outstaffing, such an approach is unreliable and may lead to inconsistencies in the quality of work, communication challenges, and lack of accountability. Dedicated developers from IT staffing companies like Drupfan guarantee structured workflows, meeting deadlines and budgets, clear communication, and a committed focus on your project. 

Based on your preferences an object needs, you can choose between nearshore and offshore outstaffing services. Let’s review each in more detail.

Nearshore IT Outstaffing Services

A nearshore outstaffing model is an approach when you hire external developers from nearby countries. For example, if your tech team is located in the USA, you hire outstaffing web developers from Canada, Mexico, or Latin America. For business owners from Western Europe, nearshore outsourcing means hiring software developers from Eastern Europe. The time difference between two teams within this model usually includes 1-3 hours. This model is beneficial when you prioritize real-time communication, common cultural views, and direct supervision.

Nearshore outstaffing service is a perfect solution that allows you to bridge your internal team with remote specialists from near-located countries. The focal point of this strategy is to fill in the technical gaps your in-house team has with more cost-effective and efficient services. You don’t have to spend weeks recruiting specialists. Instead, contact a sophisticated technologies agency like Drupfan: we have already accomplished the HR processes for you and have chosen the best developers available for outstaffing.

Hire nearshore developers at Drupfan to extend your team with the expertise you need. We are experienced in a wide range of sophisticated technologies to be able to take care of all software development needs. Whether you need assistance with website support or software development from scratch, we have you covered.

Offshore IT Outstaffing Services

An offshore outstaffing model is the practice of hiring developers from faraway countries with huge differences in time zones. For instance, if your technical team is based in the United States, you can extend it with web developers from Eastern European countries like Poland, Ukraine, Romania, or Estonia, through outstaffing services. Typically, there is a time gap of 6 or more hours between the two teams in this scenario. This model is useful when prioritizing lower costs, access to a broader pool of specialists, and maintaining flexibility in scaling your team without the need for long-term commitments.

Offshore outstaffing service is an ideal option for connecting your in-house team with seasoned professionals in sophisticated technologies from all over the world. The main focus of this approach is to address the technical gap of your internal team with more cost-effective and productive services. This is also a perfect solution to extend your team to accelerate the development processes. There is no need to devote weeks to finding and hiring full-time web developers or risk with freelancers. Instead, reach out to a tech agency like Drupfan: we have already handled the HR tasks and selected the top developers available for outstaffing services.

Hire offshore software developers from Drupfan to supplement your team with the necessary skills. We have expertise in a variety of sophisticated technologies to address all web development tasks you might have effectively. If you require help with application development or business analysis and planning, we can back you up.

Example of Outstaffing Model

Businesses always turn to outstaffing when they need to quickly scale up their in-house teams for a specific project in a short period. Imagine you have a startup developing an application that requires the implementation of React Native interfaces. Your in-house team is experienced in cross-platform back-end development but lacks front-end skills. Rather than hiring and retaining full-time React Native developers, you can consider outstaffing services provided by the external IT talent agency. Remote developers can seamlessly integrate into your internal workflows and processes, follow your rules and requirements, and concentrate on your business goals.

Pros and Cons of IT Outstaffing Model

This model can leverage your project to the fullest when used wisely and in the necessary situations. While hiring external specialists, you retain full control over the workflows, processes, and project management. Let’s define the core advantages and disadvantages of an outstaffing approach.

Advantages of IT Outstaffing

The key benefits IT outstaffing can bring into your business are:

Retaining full control over the project

Unlike project outsourcing, outstaffing allows your project managers to retain full control over the developers’ workloads, processes, and timeframes. Your in-house PM or tech lead directly tells the remote specialists what to do on a daily basis.

Affordability of the approach

Nearshore and especially offshore software outstaffing is a more cost-effective solution than hiring and retaining full-time employees internally.

Access to the pool of best developers in sophisticated technologies

By partnering with an external software services provider, you get access to the best developers in various technologies all in one place.

Fast onboarding processes

Outstaffing companies can integrate external developers into your in-house team within 1-2 days.

Easy team scalability

Seamlessly scale your team up or down as the project workload changes without the necessity to invest in full-time commitment.

Hassle-free processes

Leave aside all the hassle connected with finding, interviewing, and retaining full-time employees internally. What’s more, you don’t have to worry about such essential HR things as tax payment, insurance, perks, staff training, and more for remote outstaffing developers.

Disadvantages of IT Outstaffing

Like any cooperation model, outstaffing might bring drawbacks or inconveniences. Carefully consider each disadvantage to see whether it is a big deal for your project.

Time zone differences and communication obstacles

 If you opt for offshore outsourcing, time zone differences might disrupt processes connected to real-time communication and reporting or quick bug fixing. You may need to wait between 6 to 9 hours for the external developers to begin their workday.

Additional management responsibilities

Retaining daily control over the external employees’ tasks requires additional responsibilities for project managers and tech leads. Make sure you have enough resources to handle the management of remote developers.

Why Do Businesses Prefer Outstaffing Services in 2025?

Imagine you are running a website development project and need to extend your team in order to meet the deadlines or fill in the expertise gap for a certain sprint. You have three options:

1. Hire new employees in-house.
2. Hire freelance developers from freelance stocks.
3. Partner with an IT talent agency for temporary outstaffing services.

Let’s review each point in more detail.

Hiring full-time in-house employees.

Hiring in-house developers is crucial if you require their services on a day-to-day matter. But what is the point in investing time, effort, and money into HR processes when you need additional expertise or workforce for a limited period of time?

Hiring freelance developers.

One way to fill the expertise gap for project implementation is to hire freelance web developers. However, this approach carries risks and can backfire because you can't be sure of the reliability or professionalism of the person on the other side of the screen. This can jeopardize deadlines, clear communication, and data privacy. In addition, you’ll still need to spend time interviewing potential candidates and checking their test tasks.

Collaborating with IT Outsource Services Provider

The most effective and reliable solution is partnering with an IT talent agency that offers developers experienced in sophisticated technologies for outstaffing. By opting for this method, businesses eliminate any risks, pain, and hassle related to recruiting, training, and retaining full-time employees or freelancers. Outstaffing developers are fully focused and committed to your project, and follow your internal processes, best practices, and requirements. In addition, offshore IT outstaffing services are always more budget-friendly compared to hiring onshore employees.

When Does Your Project Require Outstaffing Services?

Software outstaffing is not a panacea for development projects. It is crucial to understand when this approach fits your needs best. The below-presented list highlights the key situations when team extension with external specialists is reasonable.

• Your development team has a need to fill the tech gap with the expertise none of your internal employees has.
• You need to temporarily scale your team up due to the enlargement of the workload.
• When you need to temporarily extend your team with the additional workforce to meet the deadlines.
• You require specific technical expertise or niche skills that are hard to find locally.
• You prioritize cost-effectiveness and want to reduce expenses related to HR processes.
• When you want your in-house team to have a focus on core business processes while external developers handle specific tech tasks.

Outstaffing vs Outsourcing: Key Differences

Both outsourcing and outstaffing involve cooperation with external teams or developers for a specific project. And, in both approaches, specialists are provided by a software development company and work remotely. But what is the difference between these two approaches?

With software outsourcing, businesses get a full-stack development team + a project manager. Outsourcing teams implement the solution independently, while their PM and tech lead are responsible for daily planning, managing, and performing of all workflows and processes. Don’t worry, you still retain control over the project implementation, as a remote team will share updates and reports on each stage or task as required.

On the contrary, outstaffed developers are fully committed to your internal processes and workflows, and your in-house project managers coordinate their daily tasks. Their scope and workload are managed by the PM or tech lead as the project requirements change and you have the opportunity to scale your team up or down as necessary with the expertise you need.

Besides these key differences, outstaffing vs outsourcing have other distinctions in pricing, responsibilities, and. Let’s compare these points side by side.