How about Supercharge Business Growth with AI-Powered Dedicated Development Team

Working with a dedicated development team is becoming a trend among both large and small businesses. Especially after Covid, they suddenly and urgently saw the need to diversify and speed up digital transformation, so they increasingly began engaging with wth seasoned tech partners.  Global revenue in the IT outsourcing segment of the IT services market is set to rise to 812.71 billion U.S. dollars by 2029.

Nowadays, hiring teams from established, seasoned vendors is more of a long-term strategic move, not just a cost-cutting tactic. It’s about securing talent and skills that are scarce locally. 

What Is The Dedicated Development Team Model and How Does AI Affect It?

The tasks these crews perform go beyond code production and testing. They take a proactive problem-solving approach, meaning they come up with innovative and cost-effective solutions to the issues arising on the project. The level of ownership dedicated teams assume is almost unattainable with less integrated development models.

But how does AI, which is being actively enhanced and refined to handle an increasing number of coding workflows autonomously, change outsourcing? Can this technology make dedicated teams redundant?

Well, in short, no – the opposite, in fact. While AI streamlines certain parts of the development process, it also increases the demand for higher-level strategic thinking – and, consequently, for highly skilled people that orchestrate processes and integrate AI technologies.

AI proliferation effectively shifts dedicated teams’ responsibilities; they are now more focused on architecting complex systems, leveraging AI-powered components, and integrating low-code solutions into existing enterprise architectures. So, beyond conventional development expertise, software companies must now also possess proficiency in AI algorithms, API integration, and low-code platform capabilities.

How AI is Used by a Dedicated Software Development Team

Code Generation

AI capabilities far exceed the generation of basic code. These tools can vastly simplify the creation of complex algorithm implementations, domain-specific code patterns, and API integrations. The human specialists, of course, have to oversee the architectural integrity and, overall, ensure that the resulting solution’s code is contextually appropriate.

However, overreliance on AI can lead to “code homogenization,” meaning everyone will use the same tools and end up with code that’s potentially easy to exploit and not aligned – without a specific style – with the project’s requirements. To address this, the engineering staff must know how to critically evaluate and customize AI-generated code to meet specific needs and standards.

Automated Testing

AI can generate comprehensive test suites on its own. It’s quite effective and may cover a wide range of vulnerabilities, bottlenecks, and edge cases. That being said, there’s always a chance the algorithms will miss some details, complex UX issues and subtle bugs. So, when using it, human-driven exploratory testing will also be required.

Code Review

AI tools can analyze code too. They can spot, with decent accuracy, complex security flaws and any deviations from coding practices, and then provide actionable and highly context-aware suggestions. Yet, these proposals must be vetted by a human expert. It’s best when AI suggestions are discussed and approved by the team at each stage.

AI Staff Augmentation

AI can carry out a lot of mundane tasks on its own – those not requiring much in terms of interpretation. If teams delegate, at least partially, tasks like data preprocessing and environment setup to AI, it will free them up to focus on higher-level problem-solving and design issues. But AI-driven automation, in any shape or form, must align with project goals, and it’s the humans who must plan out and monitor AI’s activities on delegated tasks.

Dedicated Development Team vs Fixed Price vs Other Engagement Models

While outsourcing in general can be extremely beneficial, it can also backfire if the approach is wrong. Therefore, organizations must put a lot of effort not only into investigating candidate vendors but also into analyzing in detail the specifics of the engagement models they offer. This will absolutely play a critical role in the project’s success.

Let’s run through the most common models.

The fixed price model is where you have an upfront agreement on a total project cost. The main benefit of a fixed price is the predictable budgeting. The model may work well when projects are small and well-understood from the get-go, where changes are unlikely to occur.

However, if there’s any element of uncertainty or the project evolves over time, the rigidity of this model – the set-in-stone scope, timelines, and deliverables – quickly becomes a burden rather than an advantage. Deviations from a predefined scope, which more flexible models would account for, will disrupt the process and likely result in costly and time-consuming change requests.

Conversely, the dedicated development team model is more about adapting and making the project’s processes and workflows resilient to changing needs. It’s about partnership and long-term, strategic collaboration.

This model implies the integration of a team into the client’s organization. Cost predictability may be less precise, but this is outweighed by the more valuable benefits of ongoing support, maintenance, and the ability to scale resources as needed. Any complex project is better suited for this model, and here are the key reasons:

• Faster time-to-market. Acting as a strategic extension of a company, a dedicated development team becomes increasingly familiar with the client’s infrastructure and the systems used within the project. As a result, they can refine processes effectively, speed up development cycles, and react quickly should any changes arise. Unlike outside contractors, a development team is integrated and deeply accustomed to the client’s workflows, allowing them to start producing tangible progress from the start. 

• Higher quality. As the team has complete knowledge of the product’s inner workings, they produce higher-quality code, and bugs occur less frequently. Feedback loops and continuous testing are always more streamlined within such integrated teams. 

• Increased cost-efficiency. Continuing from the previous point, when the team completely understands the ins and outs of both the project and the client’s company, rework, errors, and bugs occur much less frequently. The team is also better equipped to conduct development analysis and gradually optimize processes, coming up with innovative solutions. Besides that, overhead costs are also reduced. Dedicated development teams can handle a large portion of day-to-day development tasks, freeing up the client’s internal resources to focus on strategic initiatives. 

• Flexibility. With a dedicated development team from a reputable vendor, companies are prepared for any turn of events. They can scale up resources if the workload or demands grow, or if the project expands with new elements. Likewise, they can scale down when optimization is needed. 

The third big model is time and materials (T&M). It offers total flexibility because clients are billed for the time and resources utilized on the project. However, it also comes with a high degree of cost unpredictability.

This model is generally good for projects with undefined scopes and unclear direction – where pivots might happen often. If the goal is not a long-term commitment to a predefined objective but rather an opportunity to experiment and explore – potentially involving frequent changes in requirements and, consequently, resources and budgets – T&M could be a viable, pragmatic option. Typically, companies choose it for short-term engagements like proof-of-concept development and not when they’re seeking to build sustained capability with a consistent, embedded resource.

A dedicated team, on the other hand, is a superior choice when the direction and goals are clear, but the tasks and challenges along the way may evolve.

While these three models are the main ones, there are other notable configurations. For example, staff augmentation is when companies seek specific skills and want to fill gaps in existing projects with top-tier professionals. A good example of this is our work with KTO Group, a global gambling operator. They’re a client who urgently needed to build a ring-fenced team of experts to accelerate product development. For them, we meticulously pre-screened and tested candidates in Nigeria and quickly found specialists who met both the technological and cultural requirements of the positions. The result? Our engagement model is working seamlessly, and key roles are being sourced and filled without hiccups.

And there are also various hybrid models, which can help businesses operating in unique circumstances – such as phased development requirements, compliance challenges, or the need for test markets – strike a deal tailored to their unique requirements.

Why Hire a Dedicated Development Team for Your Business?

Now, let’s discuss in a more concrete manner what businesses can gain by working with a dedicated development team and point out some potential drawbacks.

The pros:

• You get tailored expertise because the teams are always hand-picked to match project requirements and needs. This translates into much faster development of industry-specific features, with risks -such as compliance errors – close to zero. This can significantly impact market entry, customer satisfaction, and trust. 

• You get the option to ramp up resources when needed, such as for a product launch, and scale them down after a milestone has been achieved. And this is not just about changing the project’s headcount but rather about strategic asset allocation. If you’re launching, you may consider bringing in a few more QA and AQA engineers or performance specialists. After an engineering goal has been reached, your organization might need extra capabilities in UI/UX design or data analytics expertise. The nature of this type of partnership allows businesses to continuously optimize their resources based on changing business priorities or feedback, while reducing, as much as possible, any waste in efforts or spending. This helps maximize ROI. Case in point: when one of Symphony Solutions iGaming clients needed to quickly ramp up their resources, we went as far as opening a new delivery center, extended market presence, and quickly filled the project’s critical roles with top-notch local talent. 

• The next is the fluidity benefit. Given that the team is integrated into workflows and, after a while, becomes an extension of your business, changes are adopted fluidly and efficiently. This means that issue resolution will be fast, collaboration and communication will be transparent and effective, and friction will be reduced. As a result, the project timelines will be quicker and operational costs will be significantly reduced. 

• Finally, since the experts don’t overstretch and are solely focused on your project, they can innovate better – suggesting new features, AI-driven enhancements, and so on. This, in turn, can result in the company quickly achieving product differentiation and building a strong competitive edge, even in populated or heavily regulated sectors. 

And now let’s talk about the cons:

Number one would probably be the higher upfront investment, which could be a huge issue for startups and smaller companies operating on tight budgets. When businesses face lots of constraints with cash flow, T&M and staff augmentation are generally more feasible models.

The next concern is the management overhead. Yes, dedicated teams take on a higher level of project ownership, but they cannot be fully autonomous. So, if a company lacks an internal management structure in the first place, it won’t be able to oversee this external team effectively, and the model’s benefits could be negated. Delays, misalignments, and overhead costs could ensue.

Finally, a whole team of experts can just be overkill for simple projects. For small entertainment websites or e-commerce stores, companies might consider one-off fixed-price deals. Or, if they want minor ad hoc updates in the future, T&M could be more practical.

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Dedicated Team Model: Roles and Responsibilities

As we’ve mentioned, the activities dedicated teams are responsible for vary from project to project. Usually, they include, to varying degrees, design, engineering, testing, deploying, analyzing, updating, and other activities. The classic roles are:

Full-cycle development. Everything from architecture design and implementation to UI/UX. The experts build the product from scratch and ensure every layer is completely aligned with the client’s vision.

Problem-solving. On any project, bottlenecks are bound to occur. On large projects, this will happen frequently. So, beyond coding and deploying, the team will be tasked with troubleshooting, continuous optimization, improvement, and searching for the most cost-efficient solutions.

Collaboration and product maintenance. The ultimate goal of the team is to apply industry-specific expertise to bridge the stakeholders on the client side with the technical execution of the project. This includes refining requirements through feedback loops. Additionally, after a piece of software is launched, the team will keep it running smoothly, effectively addressing any bugs and implementing updates.

With the advancement of AI, there are new responsibilietes emerging. These include:

• AI supervisors. The team will monitor and guide tools like Copilot that generate code, ensuring everything the models produce aligns with the project’s architecture. 

• AI engineers. In many cases, a dedicated team will also need to include experts who can design, train, and customize models for specific tasks like analytics, diagnostics, etc., as well as professionals who know how to integrate AI-driven insights into the company’s broader systems. 

• Automation specialists. Besides designing and overseeing the work of AI models, teams need specialists who can identify the best candidate tasks for AI-driven automation and apply it effectively to streamline workflows, whether in testing and coding pipelines or environmental setup. 

Dedicated Development Team Structure 

To explain how versatile this model can be, we’ll describe how a dedicated team can function in both a large project setting and when working with a startup.

Enterprise ERP Overhaul

Suppose a large multinational retailer needs to upgrade its ERP system and hires a dedicated team from a reputable vendor. In this example, the team can comprise:

• A solution architect responsible for designing the platform’s backbone.
• A few (or many) backend developers integrating inventory and supply chain modules into the system.
• Machine learning engineers building and training models for demand forecasting and integrating these features into the existing system.
  QA engineers ensuring the upgraded platform’s compliance with industry-specific standards.
• An automation expert enhancing the existing ERP workflows.
• A project manager overseeing the team’s efforts and ensuring the project stays aligned with the client’s vision.

Startup Budgeting App

Now, let’s look at how this model could work for a startup seeking to launch a simple budgeting app. The team they would need could consist of:

• A full-stack developer handling both front-end and back-end development.
• A UI/UX designer responsible for creating an intuitive interface and user experiences.
• An AI specialist integrating a recommendation engine, perhaps using a pre-trained model, for a spending advice feature.

How to Hire a Dedicated Software Development Team Correctly

Know What You Need

Are you building from scratch, revamping old systems, or integrating AI? Get clear on your goals – if you haven’t figured out the specifics in detail, finding the right match will be difficult.

Test Their Skills

The vendor you’re considering must offer more than dedicated developers with general coding expertise. Make sure they’re proficient in your tech stack and assess their capabilities in emerging areas like AI, cloud, and low-code platforms. Review their case studies and track record.

Find a Cultural Fit

A team that shares your values integrates faster. Also, always look for partners with established and refined communication procedures. Being in the same time zone helps to make collaboration way more efficient.

Check for Flexibility

Can they scale up when you need extra hands? Can they pivot if your roadmap shifts? Make sure they have the resources to keep up.

Think Value, Not Just Cost

Bargain rates usually mean junior talent, hidden delays, and inefficiencies. Focus on ROI. When you’re working with a team of experienced specialists,  things like rework will be reduced to a minimum while the delivery will be quick. This will offset the potentially higher upfront costs.

Start Small, Then Commit

Test them with a pilot project. It could be anything from a feature to a module. It’s a very low-risk way to assess their performance, the quality of the code they produce, their communication practices, and alignment. Then, you can commit for a long-term project.

Do Your Homework

Check reviews, talk to past clients, and scan their team’s LinkedIn for anything suspicious. Are they a stable company? Do they put efforts into retaining talent and clients? How high is their turnover?

Pro Tip

If you operate in a niche market – iGaming, fintech, etc. – look for a partner with domain-specific experience that fits your specific project. And last but not least – lock down the contract: make sure it covers IP, scalability, and exit terms.

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Summing up

A dedicated development team can be an extremely valuable asset to large and small businesses operating in almost any industry. AI proliferation not only hasn’t lessened the demand for skilled experts but, on the contrary, it has made vendors with deep data science expertise to be vastly more sought after.

Dedicated team is not the only option – T&M and fixed price can work too when projects are small and predictable – but it remains the most effective and cost-efficient model for companies with complex, evolving projects, who require a long-term reliable tech partner.

Symphony Solutions has a long track record of assembling tailored and high-caliber teams. We always focus on providing expertise that completely aligns with our clients’ goals – whether it’s a smaller organization rushing to launch a new innovative tool or a large enterprise seeking to reshape its entire digital core. And if you want to get your vision implemented with precision and inventiveness, contact us right now. With Symphony Solutions, you’re not just outsourcing – we create partnerships to build the future together.