Scaling your development capacity has never been more critical—or more complex. Companies are under pressure to deliver faster, innovate continuously, and manage costs. But what’s the best way to get the talent and stability you need?
Most organizations turn to one of two models: staff augmentation or managed services providers (MSPs). Both have clear benefits, but also significant trade-offs. That’s why we believe there’s a smarter third option: FlexDev.
Staff Augmentation: Quick but Demanding
Staff augmentation means hiring external developers through an agency while you manage them directly.
- ✅ Pros: quick access to skills, flexibility, full project control.
- ❌ Cons: high onboarding costs, risk of turnover, heavier workload for your managers.
- 🎯 Best for: short-term skill gaps that need fast coverage.
Managed Services Providers (MSPs): Stable but Rigid
With MSPs, you outsource entire processes or projects to an external provider.
- ✅ Pros: less operational burden, defined SLAs, predictable costs.
- ❌ Cons: limited flexibility, vendor lock-in, reduced innovation control.
- 🎯 Best for: ongoing support services, like 24/7 maintenance or monitoring.
FlexDev: A Smarter Alternative
FlexDev combines the strengths of both models while minimizing their weaknesses.
Here’s how it works:
- You collaborate directly with a dedicated developer fully integrated into your workflow.
- Behind that person stands an experienced team, ensuring scalability, knowledge sharing, and continuity.
- ✅ Pros: flexible capacity and stability, lower management overhead, no more onboarding headaches, balance of control and support.
- 🎯 Best for: companies that want to scale efficiently, innovate faster, and avoid compromise.
Conclusion
- Staff Augmentation = speed, but management-heavy.
- MSPs = stability, but rigid.
- FlexDev = the best of both worlds—scalable, sustainable, and without compromise.
👉 Curious if FlexDev could be the right model for you? Let’s talk.