Team as a Service: Everything You Need To Know

Finding the ideal candidate for a single role is challenging enough. Now consider building a team of professionals to execute a project. That is even more daunting. 

Team as a Service (TaaS) solves this with the ease and convenience of hiring a team of seasoned professionals ready to work on your project without the cumbersome process of long-term hiring. 

Many companies are opting for this model. In 2019, the global outsourcing market was worth $92.5 billion. Looking ahead, there is expected to be significant growth. This suggests that people are moving more towards outsourcing models such as TaaS.

This blog post will tell you everything you need to know about the team as a service model, how it works, and examine if it works for your business.

What is Team as a Service (TaaS)?

Instead of finding and training a team, you could hire a specialized team already skilled with programmers, designers, project managers, and other specialists ready to kickstart your project and get it done without the hustle of hiring full-time employees. 

So a team-as-a-service is a remote team hired by a vendor in the same or other country based on its business goals. It can also be required if the company needs an extension for its in-house team with the appropriate skills to take care of specific areas of the project.

How Does a Team as a Service Model Work?

To give you a better understanding of what Team as a Service is, here is a simple layout of how the model works.

1. Identifying What’s Needed

This is the first consideration of the business. It starts by looking at its current capabilities and then identifies specific needs or projects that require external expertise. There may be gaps that need to be filled in the existing team, or taking on new projects. The business needs to ask questions such as: What specialized skills does my current in-house team lack or What can an external team of experts provide my business? This sets a clear objective for choosing a Team as a Service model.

2. Pick a TaaS Provider

After internal checks and identifying needs, the business looks for a TaaS provider. These providers have a list of professionals with different skills. The business examines potential providers, looking at their track record, the expertise they offer, and their ability to meet the business’s needs. 

3. Team Assembly

The Taas provider puts together a team specialized in undertaking the project. In the development of a mobile app, the team might include a project manager, mobile developers, and designers.

4. Goals Are Set

The business sets a meeting with the TaaS provider to define clear goals and project scope together. Milestones are discussed. As well as deliverables, timelines, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Regular meetings help align the project’s objectives and finalize the project plan.

5. Kickoff

The team begins with a kickoff meeting to align all stakeholders. Throughout the project, the TaaS team collaborates closely with the business to ensure transparency and address any issues promptly.

6. Project Delivery

When the project is finished, the team hands over the completed work. A review is conducted with the business to assess the project’s success and gather feedback. This part usually includes final presentations, documentation handover, and training sessions if needed.

7. Support

Many TaaS providers offer support even after the project has been wrapped up. This ensures long-term success and stability, allowing businesses to address any post-implementation issues quickly. This help might involve fixing bugs, keeping things up to date, or even offering additional training for in-house teams.

Benefits of Choosing Team as a Service

Choosing a TaaS model offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance the way businesses operate. Here are some advantages of team-as-a-service:

1. Mitigated Risk

The expertise of TaaS professionals in managing projects,  anticipating problems before they happen, and ensuring a smoother project delivery provides peace of mind and a higher chance of project success. TaaS providers usually have a proven track record and established processes, which lowers the risks involved in project execution.

2. Availability of Specialized Skills

With TaaS, you get a mix of skills and knowledge. This is especially helpful for complex projects that need niche expertise that might not be available within the company. Businesses can find the right talent for their unique needs since TaaS providers have experts in different fields. 

3. Flexibility and Scalability

Businesses can quickly adapt to changing demands, like adding or removing team members based on what’s needed for a project. Scalability means they can do this without the stress of long-term contracts or worrying about staffing issues. Companies can easily increase or decrease the team size as needed.

4. Efficiency

TaaS teams are usually ready to start immediately, ensuring tasks are done efficiently and effectively, which speeds up project launch. This means projects can launch faster, leading to speedy completion and reaching business goals sooner.

5. Focus

Focus on what matters. Hand off specific jobs to a TaaS team, so businesses can zero in on their main tasks. Let the internal crew stick to what they’re best at, while the TaaS team takes care of the specialized stuff. This setup boosts productivity and helps the business grow.

Difference Between TaaS and Traditional Hiring

Understanding how teams as a service compare to hiring the old-fashioned way helps businesses choose the right fit for their business needs. Here is how these two models differ:

Cost

• TaaS: This setup is on a pay-as-you-go basis. It lets businesses pay only for the services they use. There are no extra costs like benefits, training, or long-term salaries. It can be a cost-effective structure.
• Traditional Hiring: It has fixed costs. Salaries, benefits, training, and other expenses need to be paid by employers. This can be expensive.

Business Activities

• TaaS: Outsourcing work to a TaaS team lets businesses focus on what they do best. While the TaaS team takes care of certain projects, the internal team can concentrate on the main goals. 
• Traditional Hiring: Having a big in-house team means spending a lot of time and resources managing them. This can pull attention away from the business’s main activities and might affect overall performance.

Flexibility

• TaaS: With TaaS, companies can easily adjust the team size to match project needs. If there is market change or project demands, they can quickly add to the team. This flexibility lets them adapt faster. 
• Traditional Hiring: Traditional hiring doesn’t offer that same ease. Once people are hired, they usually stay on for a long time, regardless of whether the business needs change. To change the team size, companies have to go through long recruitment processes or layoffs, which can be complicated and time-consuming.

Deployment Pace

• TaaS: Teams are ready and can start projects fast, cutting downtime. They’re set up and good to go, so businesses don’t have to wait long to begin.
• Traditional Hiring: Hiring takes a long time. It involves recruiting, interviews, and onboarding, which can drag on for weeks or months, causing project delays.

Long-Term Commitment

• TaaS: No need to commit long-term. Companies can bring in teams for each project, giving flexibility and less long-term responsibility.
• Traditional Hiring: This means long-term commitment. Workers stay with the team for a long time, which can be a problem if the company needs to change direction.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a TaaS Team?

The cost of hiring a Team as a Service is dependent on your location. It will cost more to hire from developed countries as compared to developing ones. 

If you’re thinking about bringing on a team from the U.S. for example, you would end up spending around US$135 for each hour they work. 

The cost in Western Europe can swing a bit. Experts charge anywhere between US$50 to US$200 per hour depending on the country you’re looking at. For businesses with a limited budget, this might be a tough number. But if you look to Eastern Europe, you’ll find talents charging about US$45 per hour.

Things get a lot cheaper in parts of Asia. In India, you might pay between US$15 and US$40 per hour. In China, the rate is around US$25. 

While scouting for a team, keep in mind that a lower price might not be the only thing to consider. Working with teams from different cultures can sometimes make things tricky. So while the price tag might be lighter on the wallet, collaborating could get a bit bumpy.

How To Recruit a TaaS Team?

STEP 1: Figure Out What You Want for Your Project

Begin by outlining what you want to achieve. What are you going to work on? What are you supposed to deliver? When do all these need to be done?  Knowing what you want gives clarity to the TaaS providers you might work with. 

STEP 2. Search for a TaaS Provider

Start looking for TaaS providers who are experts in what you need. You may search online, talk to people in your industry for advice, or find them on LinkedIn. It’s good to focus on providers who have delivered similar projects successfully before. Make a list of possible candidates that you can look into more deeply later.

STEP 3. Review Their Work

Once you have a list of potential TaaS providers, compare their testimonials and case studies. Look for reviews from previous clients to gauge their satisfaction and the success of past projects. This can help you understand how dependable the provider is, their quality of work, and if they meet deadlines.

STEP 4: Interview Potential Providers

Conduct interviews with shortlisted providers to discuss your project in detail. Ask about their past work, their team experience, how they manage projects, and deal with challenges. Also, this is the time to talk about cost. You want to make sure they understand what you need and can meet your expectations.

STEP 5. Hire the TaaS Team

After you choose the best service provider, go ahead and hire and onboard your TaaS team. Make sure to share your project’s goals, deadlines, and any particular needs you have. Set up regular meetings and establish clear communication lines. A solid onboarding process will help the team get comfortable quickly and begin working efficiently on your project.

Choose ScaleupAlly As Your Go-To Team as a Service Partner

We’ve been in the business of helping companies hire the best software talents over the years. We provide Team as a Service solutions, making it easier and cheaper for businesses like yours to find the right people. It’s not just about our skills in software or managing projects; it’s our ease and expertise, flexibility, and a huge focus on you, the client. 

We handle recruitment and necessary infrastructure so you can focus on growing your business and being innovative. Our successful projects and happy client testimonials show how committed we are to quality and reliability.

With advanced project management practices in place, we guarantee that projects are completed on time and within budget, all while maintaining full transparency and effective risk management.

If you’re looking for a dependable and experienced TaaS partner who understands your business, ScaleupAlly is the name you should go with. contact us today to learn more.

Conclusion

Developing an in-house team can be a challengebut it might just be the answer to what a growing company needs. There are some questions every decision-maker should consider before jumping into a TaaS contract: 

• Does this service fit with our big-picture business strategy and goals? 
• What benefits do we hope to get by using this service? 

The important factor is doing what is necessary to evolve your project or product. The TaaS model offers access to the talent required to cross the finish line.