Get ready to master the one simple trick™ that will help you build the roster of tech talent your business needs – the extended development team – now powered by AI.
With AI coding tools rapidly changing what is possible within existing time and budget constraints, getting developers in seats now rather than later has never been more important. But it hasn’t gotten easier.
Despite what you hear about AI, there are still not enough developers. Tools like Claude Code and V0 have created millions of vibe coders, but experienced developers who can work with the complex codebase of a real product are still in demand.
There still aren’t enough of those experienced developers to go around. AI is shifting the numbers, but you probably want developers now, not in 3-10 years.
If your business needs an app to compete, or your business is an app, you are still fighting in a competitive market to land the talent you need to survive. The competition for developers means it can take 2 to 3 months to fill a role with the right person. If you can afford them. If you can talk them out of building their own product now that AI can make them 2-5x more productive.
What is an extended development team?
An extended development team, the “one simple trick”, also goes by the name of a team extension, dedicated team or staff augmentation. It’s remote workers with better management, lower risk, lower costs and a higher level of engagement with your business and your team.
The biggest benefit of an extended team is how quickly they can be put in place and start being productive. This is made possible by the vendor you will work with.
How do you build an extended development team?
Building your extended team will require a vendor like SoftwareSeni. In SoftwareSeni’s case, we use a hybrid onshore/near-shore model: your project consultant is based in Australia, and our talent pool is based in Indonesia’s tech hub, Yogyakarta.
To build your team you simply supply us with details on the composition of the team that you need and SoftwareSeni provides candidates for you to interview and select from. This can be completed within a week or two, with you knowing at the outset what your costs will be.
Compare this to the 2 or 3 months that traditional recruiting can take (and don’t forget negotiating salaries and paying $$$ to recruiters).
How is an extended development team different from a normal team or outsourcing?
In this era of dispersed workforces, an extended team is no different to a normal team. They show up. You manage them. They do the work. They attend meetings. Just like the rest of your employees.
However, unlike normal remote employees, they work out of the vendor’s premises. This provides a second level of supervision. The vendor wants them to deliver the quality of service they agreed upon with you. They also provide your extended team members with technical and human resource support functions you don’t need to fund or deal with.
Unlike a typical outsourcing arrangement, you are in complete control and have complete insight into the work they’re doing for you – just like with your inhouse employees.
Where to start when building an extended team?
The first step in building your extended team is to speak to your vendor. At SoftwareSeni we can help you to quickly finalise team composition and skill sets based on your product goals so you can start building. At every step you’ll be in complete control of costs and be able to scale your team up and down to match your budget.
We can discuss the kind of AI tooling your team uses, your preferred providers, and how you’re budgeting for AI’s cost/time trade-offs.
Contact us to start building your AI-powered extended team and start moving your business forward.
