Windows Server Contract Job Trends in England

Microsoft Windows Server
UK > England

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in England requiring Windows Server skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 16 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
16 Jun 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 189 130 88
Rank change year-on-year -59 -42 -8
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 608 536 893
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.42% 2.17% 2.38%
As % of the Operating Systems category 14.84% 15.25% 17.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 415 382 656
10th Percentile £263 £350 £213
25th Percentile £407 £425 £332
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £540 £492
Median % change year-on-year -12.04% +9.76% -1.60%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £594
90th Percentile £668 £688 £679
UK median daily rate £475 £525 £475
% change year-on-year -9.52% +10.53% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 5 17
10th Percentile £19.25 £14.32 £14.60
25th Percentile £20.91 £15.33 £16.00
Median hourly rate £26.22 £18.75 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year +39.84% -51.30% +14.07%
75th Percentile £65.96 £73.75 £61.60
90th Percentile £74.00 £76.00 £65.46
UK median hourly rate £24.00 £17.75 £38.50
% change year-on-year +35.21% -53.90% +29.85%

All Operating Systems
England

Windows Server falls under the Operating Systems category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring operating system skills in England.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for operating system skills 4,097 3,515 5,122
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.56% 14.23% 13.68%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,669 2,368 3,409
10th Percentile £188 £200 £188
25th Percentile £313 £313 £311
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £455 £465 £475
Median % change year-on-year -2.15% -2.11% -5.00%
75th Percentile £570 £588 £588
90th Percentile £650 £689 £700
UK median daily rate £460 £465 £475
% change year-on-year -1.08% -2.11% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 279 180 385
10th Percentile £15.99 £15.12 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.25 £17.31 £15.63
Median hourly rate £32.50 £19.14 £23.00
Median % change year-on-year +69.85% -16.80% -51.58%
75th Percentile £65.00 £44.00 £63.75
90th Percentile £71.60 £68.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £28.00 £22.00 £23.98
% change year-on-year +27.27% -8.24% -49.53%

Windows Server
Job Vacancy Trend in England

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Windows Server relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in England.

Windows Server job vacancy trend in England

Windows Server
Daily Rate Trend in England

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Windows Server.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Windows Server

Windows Server
Daily Rate Histogram in England

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Windows Server in England over the 6 months to 16 June 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Windows Server in England

Windows Server
Hourly Rate Trend in England

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Windows Server.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in England citing Windows Server

Windows Server
Hourly Rate Histogram in England

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Windows Server in England over the 6 months to 16 June 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Windows Server in England

Windows Server
Contract Job Locations in England

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Windows Server within the England region over the 6 months to 16 June 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location Rank Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Matching
Contract
IT Job Ads		 Median
Daily Rate
Past 6 Months		 Median Daily Rate
% Change
on Same Period
Last Year		 Live
Jobs
London -59 186 £488 -7.14% 74
South East -32 142 £515 -4.28% 115
North of England -78 87 £460 -8.00% 75
Midlands -18 71 £444 -1.39% 51
East of England -15 60 £450 -18.18% 38
South West -42 60 £511 -11.09% 59
North West -45 56 £448 -1.54% 42
West Midlands -37 44 £438 +9.38% 27
Yorkshire -58 29 £625 +16.28% 21
East Midlands -6 25 £450 -10.00% 24
North East -37 2 £330 -34.00% 13
Windows Server
UK

Windows Server
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in England by Category

The following tables expand on the one above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. They cover the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each category:

Application Platforms
1 72 (11.84%) Microsoft Exchange
2 28 (4.61%) IIS
3 27 (4.44%) SharePoint
4 10 (1.64%) nginx
4 10 (1.64%) Tomcat
5 7 (1.15%) Apache
6 3 (0.49%) WebLogic
7 2 (0.33%) CloudStack
7 2 (0.33%) SAS
7 2 (0.33%) Skype for Business
8 1 (0.16%) ArcGIS
8 1 (0.16%) Confluence
8 1 (0.16%) OpenStack
8 1 (0.16%) Oracle SOA Suite
8 1 (0.16%) WebSphere
Applications
1 10 (1.64%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.66%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.33%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 14 (2.30%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.49%) Veritas eDiscovery
3 1 (0.16%) Oracle FAH
3 1 (0.16%) Oracle General Ledger
3 1 (0.16%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
3 1 (0.16%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
Cloud Services
1 237 (38.98%) Azure
2 103 (16.94%) Microsoft 365
3 101 (16.61%) Entra ID
4 73 (12.01%) AWS
5 26 (4.28%) IaaS
6 19 (3.13%) Azure Monitor
7 18 (2.96%) GCP
8 17 (2.80%) Power Platform
9 15 (2.47%) PaaS
10 12 (1.97%) GitHub
11 11 (1.81%) Nutanix
12 9 (1.48%) SaaS
13 8 (1.32%) Azure DevOps
14 7 (1.15%) Amazon EC2
14 7 (1.15%) Azure Sentinel
14 7 (1.15%) GitHub Actions
15 6 (0.99%) Cohesity
15 6 (0.99%) OpenShift
16 5 (0.82%) Azure Logic Apps
16 5 (0.82%) Azure Stack
Communications & Networking
1 200 (32.89%) DNS
2 139 (22.86%) DHCP
3 94 (15.46%) Firewall
4 50 (8.22%) VPN
5 44 (7.24%) WAN
6 39 (6.41%) TCP/IP
7 36 (5.92%) LAN
8 24 (3.95%) Network Security
9 23 (3.78%) SAN
10 17 (2.80%) VLAN
11 16 (2.63%) SMTP
12 15 (2.47%) SSL
13 14 (2.30%) FTP
13 14 (2.30%) Kerberos
14 12 (1.97%) VoIP
15 11 (1.81%) SSH
16 10 (1.64%) NAS
16 10 (1.64%) Wi-Fi
17 9 (1.48%) NetScaler
18 8 (1.32%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 119 (19.57%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.80%) Power BI
3 14 (2.30%) Elasticsearch
4 11 (1.81%) Amazon RDS
4 11 (1.81%) Oracle Database
4 11 (1.81%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (1.48%) NoSQL
6 7 (1.15%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 6 (0.99%) Db2
8 5 (0.82%) Big Data
9 4 (0.66%) GIS
9 4 (0.66%) Oracle BI EE
10 3 (0.49%) Data Mining
10 3 (0.49%) MySQL
10 3 (0.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
11 2 (0.33%) MongoDB
11 2 (0.33%) Relational Database
11 2 (0.33%) SQL Server Analysis Services
12 1 (0.16%) Oracle Database 11g
12 1 (0.16%) Oracle Database 12c
Development Applications
1 10 (1.64%) JIRA
2 9 (1.48%) Visual Studio
3 6 (0.99%) Git
3 6 (0.99%) Jenkins
4 5 (0.82%) Robot Framework
5 4 (0.66%) GitLab
5 4 (0.66%) Sonatype Nexus
6 3 (0.49%) MSI
7 2 (0.33%) AdminStudio
7 2 (0.33%) InstallShield
8 1 (0.16%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.16%) eggPlant
8 1 (0.16%) GoCD
8 1 (0.16%) Octopus Deploy
8 1 (0.16%) Postman
General
1 120 (19.74%) Social Skills
2 62 (10.20%) Finance
3 59 (9.70%) Public Sector
4 48 (7.89%) Analytical Skills
5 25 (4.11%) Banking
6 24 (3.95%) Documentation Skills
7 17 (2.80%) Legal
8 15 (2.47%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 12 (1.97%) Military
10 11 (1.81%) Law
11 8 (1.32%) Organisational Skills
12 5 (0.82%) Local Government
12 5 (0.82%) Marketing
12 5 (0.82%) Retail
13 4 (0.66%) Manufacturing
13 4 (0.66%) Police
14 3 (0.49%) Telecoms
15 2 (0.33%) Front Office
15 2 (0.33%) Pharmaceutical
16 1 (0.16%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 148 (24.34%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 47 (7.73%) Support Engineer
3 41 (6.74%) Senior
4 37 (6.09%) Analyst
4 37 (6.09%) Cloud Engineer
5 33 (5.43%) 3rd Line Engineer
6 31 (5.10%) Architect
6 31 (5.10%) Lead
7 30 (4.93%) Wintel Engineer
8 29 (4.77%) IT Support
9 26 (4.28%) Administrator
10 22 (3.62%) IT Engineer
11 21 (3.45%) Infrastructure Support
12 20 (3.29%) Developer
13 19 (3.13%) 3rd Line Support
13 19 (3.13%) Windows Engineer
14 18 (2.96%) Server Engineer
15 17 (2.80%) Azure Engineer
15 17 (2.80%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
15 17 (2.80%) Systems Administrator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (4.93%) .NET
2 26 (4.28%) .NET Framework
3 19 (3.13%) LDAP
4 18 (2.96%) OAuth
5 17 (2.80%) SAML
6 15 (2.47%) REST
7 6 (0.99%) Elastic Stack
7 6 (0.99%) RabbitMQ
8 5 (0.82%) JSON
8 5 (0.82%) Keycloak
8 5 (0.82%) OAuth2
8 5 (0.82%) OpenID
8 5 (0.82%) Software Packaging
9 4 (0.66%) ADO
9 4 (0.66%) Azure Blueprints
9 4 (0.66%) EJB
9 4 (0.66%) YAML
10 3 (0.49%) ARM Templates
10 3 (0.49%) Middleware
10 3 (0.49%) OpenLayers
Miscellaneous
1 58 (9.54%) PKI
2 43 (7.07%) Clustering
3 38 (6.25%) Replication
4 35 (5.76%) Onboarding
5 33 (5.43%) Data Centre
6 31 (5.10%) Hybrid Cloud
7 21 (3.45%) Management Information System
8 20 (3.29%) Legacy Systems
9 14 (2.30%) Self-Motivation
10 13 (2.14%) Linux Command Line
11 12 (1.97%) Enterprise Software
11 12 (1.97%) Enterprise Storage
12 10 (1.64%) Virtual Team
13 9 (1.48%) Cloud Native
13 9 (1.48%) Product Ownership
14 8 (1.32%) Driving Licence
14 8 (1.32%) NHS
14 8 (1.32%) Security Posture
15 7 (1.15%) Private Cloud
15 7 (1.15%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 608 (100.00%) Windows
2 166 (27.30%) Linux
3 56 (9.21%) Windows Server 2019
4 42 (6.91%) Windows Server 2016
5 41 (6.74%) Windows 10
6 40 (6.58%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 32 (5.26%) Windows Server 2012
8 31 (5.10%) Unix
9 21 (3.45%) Ubuntu
10 10 (1.64%) Windows Server 2003
11 9 (1.48%) AIX
11 9 (1.48%) VMS
11 9 (1.48%) Windows Server 2008
12 8 (1.32%) CentOS
12 8 (1.32%) Solaris
13 4 (0.66%) Alpine Linux
13 4 (0.66%) Mac OS
14 3 (0.49%) Android
14 3 (0.49%) Windows 7
15 2 (0.33%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 178 (29.28%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 101 (16.61%) Disaster Recovery
2 101 (16.61%) High Availability
3 100 (16.45%) Problem-Solving
4 82 (13.49%) ITIL
5 71 (11.68%) Migration
6 58 (9.54%) ITSM
7 57 (9.38%) Change Management
8 49 (8.06%) DevOps
9 48 (7.89%) Project Delivery
10 46 (7.57%) Infrastructure as Code
11 44 (7.24%) Agile
12 43 (7.07%) Root Cause Analysis
13 41 (6.74%) Technical Leadership
14 39 (6.41%) Runbook
15 38 (6.25%) Service Management
16 37 (6.09%) Cybersecurity
16 37 (6.09%) Vulnerability Remediation
17 35 (5.76%) Identity Access Management
18 34 (5.59%) Patch Management
Programming Languages
1 225 (37.01%) PowerShell
2 89 (14.64%) SQL
3 61 (10.03%) Python
4 29 (4.77%) Bash
5 27 (4.44%) C#
6 25 (4.11%) PL/SQL
7 19 (3.13%) T-SQL
8 16 (2.63%) JavaScript
9 10 (1.64%) Java
10 7 (1.15%) Bicep
11 3 (0.49%) Shell Script
12 2 (0.33%) JCL
12 2 (0.33%) REXX
13 1 (0.16%) Groovy
13 1 (0.16%) Ladder Logic
13 1 (0.16%) Perl
13 1 (0.16%) TypeScript
13 1 (0.16%) VB
Qualifications
1 247 (40.63%) Security Cleared
2 144 (23.68%) SC Cleared
3 103 (16.94%) DV Cleared
4 70 (11.51%) Degree
5 49 (8.06%) Microsoft Certification
6 28 (4.61%) MCSE
6 28 (4.61%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
7 20 (3.29%) MCSA
8 18 (2.96%) VCAP
9 14 (2.30%) Cisco Certification
10 12 (1.97%) CISSP
11 11 (1.81%) BPSS Clearance
12 10 (1.64%) CISM
13 9 (1.48%) Azure Certification
13 9 (1.48%) CCNA
14 7 (1.15%) CCNP
15 6 (0.99%) AWS Certification
16 5 (0.82%) ITIL Certification
17 4 (0.66%) MCITP
17 4 (0.66%) MCTS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (6.09%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 28 (4.61%) QA
3 25 (4.11%) NIST
4 21 (3.45%) GDPR
5 14 (2.30%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 14 (2.30%) SLA
6 12 (1.97%) Cyber Essentials
7 5 (0.82%) SOC 2
8 3 (0.49%) NCSC
9 2 (0.33%) Government Security Classifications
9 2 (0.33%) HIPAA
9 2 (0.33%) ISO/IEC 42001
9 2 (0.33%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.16%) Basel III
10 1 (0.16%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.16%) GAAP
10 1 (0.16%) IFRS
10 1 (0.16%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.16%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.16%) PCI DSS
System Software
1 352 (57.89%) Active Directory
2 215 (35.36%) VMware Infrastructure
3 100 (16.45%) Hyper-V
4 79 (12.99%) VMware ESXi
5 75 (12.34%) vSphere
6 53 (8.72%) Virtual Machines
7 36 (5.92%) Docker
8 34 (5.59%) VMware NSX
9 13 (2.14%) Virtual Desktop
10 12 (1.97%) Microsoft App-V
11 11 (1.81%) BitLocker
11 11 (1.81%) KVM
11 11 (1.81%) vCloud
12 6 (0.99%) Terminal Services
12 6 (0.99%) Virtual Servers
12 6 (0.99%) VMware Workstation
12 6 (0.99%) XenApp
13 5 (0.82%) XenDesktop
14 4 (0.66%) Oracle RAC
15 3 (0.49%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 84 (13.82%) Ansible
2 72 (11.84%) vCenter Server
3 65 (10.69%) Microsoft Intune
4 57 (9.38%) SCCM
5 48 (7.89%) Terraform
6 39 (6.41%) Kubernetes
7 37 (6.09%) SCOM
8 31 (5.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 27 (4.44%) Single Sign-On
10 24 (3.95%) WSUS
11 15 (2.47%) vMotion
12 12 (1.97%) Puppet
13 9 (1.48%) Nessus
14 8 (1.32%) Avamar
15 6 (0.99%) Grafana
15 6 (0.99%) IBM BigFix
15 6 (0.99%) Oracle RMAN
15 6 (0.99%) Prometheus
15 6 (0.99%) VxRail
16 4 (0.66%) Backup Exec
Vendors
1 268 (44.08%) Microsoft
2 260 (42.76%) VMware
3 65 (10.69%) Cisco
4 63 (10.36%) Citrix
5 54 (8.88%) Oracle
6 43 (7.07%) ServiceNow
7 27 (4.44%) Dell
8 23 (3.78%) Red Hat
9 20 (3.29%) Okta
10 18 (2.96%) BeyondTrust
10 18 (2.96%) Tenable
11 16 (2.63%) IBM
12 14 (2.30%) CyberArk
12 14 (2.30%) HP
12 14 (2.30%) Remedy
12 14 (2.30%) Veeam
13 13 (2.14%) BMC
13 13 (2.14%) Google
13 13 (2.14%) Qualys
13 13 (2.14%) Thales
382 Windows Server jobs in England