Nearly every IT project can be put into one of two broad categories: one-time, or transitional, projects, and continuous, or ongoing, projects. Some examples of one-time projects are the migration of a major application system, the implementation of a defense-in-depth security stack, or the refactoring of an on-premises system for migration to the cloud. Continuous projects generally involve managing the ongoing use of a key platform or app. This includes supporting operations or minor upgrades/changes to that system.
CIOs need to staff these two broad groups of projects differently. The staff that works on a one-time project has skills that might not be needed as much, or even at all, after completion of the project. The skills for supporting ongoing projects are needed for years. For this reason, leading CIOs often focus in-house IT staff on the ongoing projects and use contractors for the one-time work.
This split resource strategy is effective in part because many one-time projects utilize the newest or most advanced technologies. Internal teams don’t typically have individuals with the needed skills, but external service providers can deliver them easily and far more quickly than would happen with an internal hiring process. It’s also a fact that skilled practitioners that are fluent in the latest technologies often choose to work as contractors. Internal staff certainly have skills that are needed, but those skills are much more likely to relate to the organization’s existing tools and apps.
Another consideration is that professionals who possess a highly desirable skillset that encompasses the newest technologies are too expensive to be added as staff at most organizations. They nearly always command salaries out of alignment with the job descriptions of internal teams. That’s hard on budgets, but it’s just as devastating to staff morale. Hiring a new lead dev engineer who makes 80% more than existing lead dev engineers is certain to give rise to resentment and jealousy. But staff usually expect contractors to be paid handsomely, so bringing them on is simply less disruptive for the team.
Another benefit of using service providers to deliver talent for one-time projects is that the contractors can teach internal teams as the project progresses. This enables the internal team to gain important skills and better positions in-house staff to manage the systems on an ongoing basis if that becomes necessary.
As the number of new technologies expands and organizations feel the need to complete one-time projects faster, treating event-style projects as special cases with a different staffing strategy from ongoing projects can help a CIO move quickly and with better results. Maverick Technology Partners has a great deal of experience in assisting IT leaders in making these decisions and supporting one-time projects with proven professionals. Read Maverick’s “Infrastructure Project Management” Case Study.