Many software companies and product teams close out the year with the same refrain: “We can’t take this project right now—we’re short-handed.”
In practice, that “no” stems from an underlying problem: the inability to add technical talent at the pace demanded.
This is a scenario we constantly address when helping development teams scale without stalling their operations, since neither traditional recruitment nor many IT staffing or IT outsourcing schemes respond with the speed and continuity operations demand.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for software developers, QA analysts, and testers will grow 15% between 2024 and 2034—well above the market average.
Yet, according to ManpowerGroup’s 2025 Talent Shortage Survey, 74% of employers struggle to find key tech profiles..
That’s why models with immediate nearshore capacity and teams ready to integrate into ongoing projects are gaining ground: they enable you to add hands when the sprint can’t wait, especially when they combine nearshore talent with continuous recruitment and evaluation processes, seamless integration into distributed teams, and operational support that sustains day-to-day delivery.
In this context, being unable to take on new developments due to a lack of capacity ceases to be an internal management issue and becomes a direct commercial risk.
Every rejected project is an opportunity someone else seizes, with impact on revenue, reputation, and growth—especially heading into 2026.
The Real Cost of Saying “No” to a Project
Rejecting projects or delaying software development service deliveries doesn’t have an immediate impact, but it does have a constant impact.
The effect accumulates sprint after sprint and ultimately reflects directly on the business, especially when a key technical role remains unfilled.
A Boston Consulting Group analysis shows that nearly half of executives report that more than 30% of their software projects experience delays or cost overruns. In most cases, the causes are recurring:
- Lack of alignment between business and technology
- Unrealistic timelines
- Insufficient financial and development resources
When technical capacity is lacking, deliveries are delayed, the burden on the existing team increases, technical debt accumulates, and revenue begins to be lost—even in organizations with mature IT services or traditional outsourcing schemes that fail to respond with the speed operations demand.
The impact is even greater on large projects. A McKinsey study indicates that delays generate average cost overruns of 45% and a 56% reduction in expected benefits.
Telling a client “we can’t right now” due to capacity constraints doesn’t just halt a specific project. It also weakens the commercial relationship and opens the door for another competitor to take that contract, with a direct impact on revenue and positioning when the situation repeats.
Mini Self-Assessment: Is Lack of Capacity Costing You Money?
To identify whether talent shortage is already impacting your operations, it’s worth asking yourself some concrete questions:
| Key Indicators to Evaluate Your Team | Yes | No |
| Did you have to reject projects or contracts this year because the team couldn’t handle them? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Were sprints or deliveries delayed due to a lack of available software developers, QA, or DevOps? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Did you have to cut scope or postpone key functionalities to meet deadlines? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Have you had technical vacancies open longer than anticipated without being able to fill them? | ☐ | ☐ |
| Does your internal team show signs of burnout from excessive operational load? | ☐ | ☐ |
If you answered yes to even one of these situations, capacity constraints are already affecting your business velocity. This isn’t a warning sign for the future: it’s happening now.
At this point, continuing to rely solely on traditional recruitment usually prolongs the problem. To sustain delivery pace, many software development companies opt for models that allow them to add capacity quickly and in a controlled manner.
Schemes like IT staffing or contract IT staffing services enable the incorporation of already-vetted technical profiles, integration into existing teams, and the filling of critical roles within weeks, preventing delays from continuing to affect revenue and client relationships.
When teams can’t sustain the pace, it’s crucial to review hiring models.
IT Staffing: A Flexible and Scalable Solution
IT staffing starts with a simple idea: add technical capacity when the project needs it, without losing control of delivery.
Unlike traditional software development outsourcing, project responsibility isn’t transferred to a third party: the internal team maintains technical control and decision-making. Software developers, QA, DevOps, or external analysts are integrated directly into existing teams, under the same methodology, tools, and quality standards.
In practice, this allows you to adjust team capacity according to workload. For example, if a critical sprint needs to reinforce QA for two or three weeks to reach a launch, the team can do so without restructuring or halting the roadmap.
This approach is already a reality for many organizations. A Gartner report indicates that 32% of companies replace full-time roles with contingent talent to gain flexibility and control costs.
Beyond the numbers, the value of IT staffing lies in operations. The internal team retains technical control, planning, and decision-making, while adding professionals with real experience in software development projects.
Allied Global: Your IT Staffing Partner
At Allied Global, we don’t limit ourselves to simply filling vacancies. Our IT staffing approach is designed to provide real operational capacity, not just isolated talent. We combine specialized technical profiles, technology projects, and managed IT services to reinforce internal teams while maintaining full delivery control.
While some providers focus on assigning developers by the hour, our model prioritizes continuity of work, team adaptation, and operational stability.
We work with software companies and product teams that need to seamlessly integrate
developers, QA, DevOps, data specialists, or infrastructure professionals, without expanding their internal structure.
To achieve this, we have a continuous selection process that allows us to integrate talent with experience in real projects, validated in agile methodologies, and accustomed to working in distributed environments from the first sprint.
The nearshore model, combined with operational support and managed services, is a core pillar of this proposal. By working with talent in nearby markets, we are able to:
- Facilitate time zone alignment
- Reduce operational friction
- Improve daily collaboration with internal teams
When a team faces delays in its development cycles due to capacity constraints, we can incorporate specialized profiles within weeks through our Remote Staffing service to stabilize sprints, recover delivery pace, and advance with new functionalities without redoing processes or teams.
In addition to talent supply, Allied Global supports operations with a comprehensive portfolio of managed services, including:
- Technology consulting
- Systems integration
- Automation and digital projects
- IT services and specialized technical support
- NOC services
As we move into 2026, having a nearshore contract IT staffing services partner like Allied Global with operational support allows you to stop rejecting projects due to being short-handed, scale with greater predictability, and sustain growth without compromising delivery.
Conclusión
Repeatedly rejecting projects due to a lack of technical capacity isn’t a one-time problem—it is a sign that operations are not prepared to sustain demand.
Next year, the difference will not lie in who gets more opportunities, but in who has the operational capacity to execute them without stalling their delivery.
At Allied Global, we work as an extension of the internal team, ensuring that being short-handed never limits growth or forces you to reject projects.
Sources
- Freshworks. (2025, 10 de noviembre). 20% of Software Budgets Wasted on Unnecessary Business Complexity, Freshworks Survey Finds. Recuperado de https://freshworks.gcs-web.com/news-releases/news-release-details/20-software-budgets-wasted-unnecessary-business-complexity
- Technomark. (2025, 12 de mayo). The Hidden Toll of Delayed Software Releases. Recuperado de https://technomark.io/blogs/the-hidden-toll-of-delayed-software-releases
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- Palumbo, S.; Rehberg, B.; Li, H. (2024, 30 de abril). Software Projects Don’t Have to Be Late, Costly, and Irrelevant. BCG. Recuperado de https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/software-projects-dont-have-to-be-late-costly-and-irrelevant
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