If the necessary resources are lacking, companies often fall back on temporary specialists. For example, they support the internal development team with specific expertise, initiate projects that would otherwise be left undone or advise the client on strategic matters. Particularly as the innovation cycle has accelerated enormously and skilled workers are difficult to find, specialists can be recruited promptly via personnel service providers.

However, the added value that external developers bring is not just about filling an existing gap in the team. Temporary employees are often assigned important tasks and functions that go beyond simply assisting with the programming of the software project. With the specific know-how of external employees, the company can be prepared for the future. External specialists often work in very different sectors with different requirements and therefore bring with them a very broad range of knowledge that ideally complements the know-how of the internal team. A healthy mix of internal and external specialists ensures the important transfer of knowledge and creates synergies, which boosts the company's development. Gaps in knowledge can be filled quickly and the quality of the project improves thanks to the external input. In addition, deadlines can be better adhered to and projects can be completed as planned.

External employees, who can often take on an advisory role in addition to their operational activities, bring new perspectives to the team and have the opportunity to address inconsistencies objectively, as they have an outside perspective.

When it comes to modern technologies, external developers bring with them very specific knowledge that they can pass on to the internal team. However, external employees are not only a valuable addition in terms of modern technologies. Maintaining the existing software solution sometimes loses some of its focus, as the further development of the system is given higher priority. This is precisely where external employees can come in and take on legacy tasks, as they have worked intensively with legacy systems in the past or can program high-level languages that have now been relegated to the background.

Another advantage of working with an agency is the possibility of finding a replacement or adding another employee to the team. If an employee is absent, staff leasing service providers have a large network, which means that a replacement can be organized within a reasonable period of time. Finally, the care of the external expert can be completely entrusted to the provider, relieving the customer of this responsibility.

Dominik Lischer, Business Analyst, INTEGRATE Informatik AG