These are four ways to add engineering capacity in India. Staff augmentation places individual engineers inside your team. A dedicated team (or pod) is a group a vendor manages against your roadmap. An offshore delivery centre (ODC) is a standing unit run by the vendor for you. Build-operate-transfer (BOT) starts as a vendor-run unit and ends as your own global capability centre (GCC). They differ in who manages the people, who employs them and what you own in the end.
A note on the abbreviation: "ODC" also appears as "offshore development centre". This article uses it for a vendor-run unit that works only for you.
How the four models differ
| Staff augmentation | Dedicated team | Offshore delivery centre | Build-operate-transfer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Size | A few people | A small group | A large, standing unit | A unit that will become your own |
| Who manages the work | You | The vendor's delivery lead | The vendor's delivery head | The vendor, then you |
| Who employs the people | The vendor | The vendor | The vendor | The vendor, then you |
| Term | Until the gap closes | Until the roadmap ends or changes | Open-ended | Until the agreed transfer |
| What you own at the end | Your code and knowledge | Your code and documents | Your code and documents | The entity, the team and the process |
| Fits best | A skill gap on your own team | A product or module with a clear roadmap | Continuous work at scale | A permanent capability you want to own |
Staff augmentation
You hire named engineers through a vendor and manage them in your own process, tools and meetings. It fits when you have good managers and a gap in a skill or in headcount. You keep the technical direction, and so you carry the delivery risk too. See what staff augmentation costs to manage.
Dedicated pods
A vendor assigns a team with a lead and takes responsibility for delivery against your roadmap. You set priorities, and the vendor runs the day-to-day. It fits a product or a set of modules where the roadmap is stable enough to plan against. The pod can grow, shrink or stop with notice that the contract defines.
Offshore delivery centre
An ODC is a unit in India that works only on your portfolio, under one delivery head, using your brand and processes. The vendor handles hiring, payroll, premises, equipment and statutory work. It suits continuous work where scale changes over time. You gain capacity without forming an entity, and you accept that the vendor owns the employment relationship. For security and IP controls to ask for, see offshore engineering: security and IP and managing a distributed engineering team.
BOT and the GCC it becomes
In a BOT, the vendor builds the team against your hiring bar, runs it for an agreed period and then transfers it to you, together with the entity and the people. The end state is a GCC: your own legal entity in India with your own staff. Settle these in the first contract: when the transfer happens, what it costs, how employment moves across, and your approval of each hire. Read build-operate-transfer, step by step and setting up a GCC in India.
Choose in four questions
How long do you need the capacity?
A gap of a few months points to staff augmentation. A roadmap of a year or two suits a pod. Work with no end date suits an ODC or a BOT.
Who will manage the engineers?
If you have strong engineering managers with spare time, you can run augmented staff. If you do not, take a model in which the vendor holds delivery.
Do you want to own the capability permanently?
If the answer is yes, then BOT leads to it, and an ODC does not. If you only want output, an ODC or a pod is simpler.
What scale do you need, and how quickly will it change?
Small and variable needs fit augmentation. Large and steady ones fit an ODC. Large and permanent ones fit a BOT.
What to put in each contract
| Model | Clauses to ask for |
|---|---|
| Staff augmentation | Replacement of a named engineer, notice period, who owns work product, confidentiality terms |
| Dedicated team | Team composition and lead, change of scope, notice to scale down, access to your repositories |
| Offshore delivery centre | Delivery head, security controls and audit evidence, notice to scale, exit and handover terms |
| Build-operate-transfer | Transfer date, price and mechanism, hiring bar and your approval of each offer, support during transfer |
In every model, code and documents should sit in your own repositories and cloud accounts from the first day.
The costly mistake
The usual mistake is choosing a model for its price per head and ignoring management load. Augmented engineers add to your managers' workload. A model that looks cheap per person can be dear per delivered feature if nobody has capacity to direct the work. Count the hours your own staff must give each week before you compare quotes. For vendor selection, see how to choose a software development company in India, and for a wider survey of models, offshore engineering models: a guide.
If what you lack is a senior decision-maker and not hands, none of the four is the right fit. See what CTO as a service is.
Questions buyers ask
What is the difference between staff augmentation and a dedicated team?
In augmentation you manage individuals. In a dedicated team the vendor manages the group against your roadmap.
Is an ODC the same as a GCC?
No. A vendor runs an ODC and employs its people. A GCC is a company you own, with people on your payroll.
When does BOT make sense?
When you want a permanent engineering centre in India and prefer the vendor to set it up and run it first.
Where Brihat Infotech fits
Brihat Infotech offers team augmentation, an offshore delivery centre and build-operate-transfer. Start a conversation.