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 17 June 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
17 Jun 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 190 130 90
Rank change year-on-year -60 -40 -9
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 609 535 892
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.42% 2.16% 2.38%
As % of the Operating Systems category 14.88% 15.18% 17.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 415 382 655
10th Percentile £263 £350 £213
25th Percentile £408 £427 £332
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £545 £488
Median % change year-on-year -11.93% +11.79% -2.50%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £594
90th Percentile £672 £688 £680
UK median daily rate £478 £525 £475
% change year-on-year -9.09% +10.58% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 41 5 17
10th Percentile £19.25 £14.32 £14.60
25th Percentile £20.79 £15.33 £16.00
Median hourly rate £26.00 £18.75 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year +38.67% -51.30% +14.07%
75th Percentile £67.84 £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 4,092 3,525 5,123
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.53% 14.25% 13.67%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,670 2,374 3,409
10th Percentile £188 £200 £188
25th Percentile £313 £313 £311
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £456 £464 £475
Median % change year-on-year -1.62% -2.37% -5.00%
75th Percentile £570 £588 £588
90th Percentile £650 £689 £700
UK median daily rate £463 £465 £475
% change year-on-year -0.54% -2.11% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 277 183 385
10th Percentile £15.97 £15.12 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.25 £17.29 £15.63
Median hourly rate £32.50 £18.87 £23.00
Median % change year-on-year +72.23% -17.96% -50.80%
75th Percentile £65.00 £39.83 £63.75
90th Percentile £71.70 £68.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £29.48 £21.90 £23.98
% change year-on-year +34.61% -8.65% -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 17 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 17 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 17 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 -45 186 £488 -7.14% 58
South East -37 142 £515 -4.01% 106
North of England -76 87 £465 -7.08% 74
Midlands -16 72 £450 - 52
South West -36 61 £511 -11.09% 51
East of England -12 59 £450 -18.18% 36
North West -44 54 £448 -3.66% 41
West Midlands -33 44 £438 +9.38% 26
Yorkshire -58 31 £625 +16.28% 23
East Midlands -2 26 £450 -10.00% 26
North East -36 2 £330 -34.00% 11
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 (11.82%) Microsoft Exchange
2 28 (4.60%) IIS
3 27 (4.43%) 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
1 241 (39.57%) Azure
2 106 (17.41%) Microsoft 365
3 102 (16.75%) Entra ID
4 75 (12.32%) AWS
5 26 (4.27%) IaaS
6 20 (3.28%) GCP
7 19 (3.12%) Azure Monitor
8 17 (2.79%) Power Platform
9 15 (2.46%) PaaS
10 12 (1.97%) GitHub
11 11 (1.81%) Nutanix
12 9 (1.48%) SaaS
13 8 (1.31%) 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
1 202 (33.17%) DNS
2 141 (23.15%) DHCP
3 95 (15.60%) Firewall
4 51 (8.37%) VPN
5 45 (7.39%) WAN
6 39 (6.40%) TCP/IP
7 36 (5.91%) LAN
8 25 (4.11%) SAN
9 24 (3.94%) Network Security
10 18 (2.96%) VLAN
11 16 (2.63%) SMTP
12 15 (2.46%) SSL
13 14 (2.30%) Kerberos
14 13 (2.13%) FTP
14 13 (2.13%) VoIP
15 11 (1.81%) NAS
15 11 (1.81%) SSH
16 10 (1.64%) Wi-Fi
17 9 (1.48%) NetScaler
18 8 (1.31%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 119 (19.54%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.79%) Power BI
3 14 (2.30%) Elasticsearch
4 12 (1.97%) Amazon RDS
5 11 (1.81%) Oracle Database
5 11 (1.81%) PostgreSQL
6 9 (1.48%) NoSQL
7 7 (1.15%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 6 (0.99%) Db2
9 5 (0.82%) Big Data
10 4 (0.66%) GIS
10 4 (0.66%) Oracle BI EE
11 3 (0.49%) Data Mining
11 3 (0.49%) MySQL
11 3 (0.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.33%) MongoDB
12 2 (0.33%) Relational Database
12 2 (0.33%) SQL Server Analysis Services
13 1 (0.16%) Oracle Database 11g
13 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
1 119 (19.54%) Social Skills
2 62 (10.18%) Finance
3 60 (9.85%) Public Sector
4 47 (7.72%) Analytical Skills
5 25 (4.11%) Banking
5 25 (4.11%) Documentation Skills
6 17 (2.79%) Legal
7 15 (2.46%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 13 (2.13%) Military
9 11 (1.81%) Law
10 8 (1.31%) Organisational Skills
11 5 (0.82%) Local Government
11 5 (0.82%) Marketing
11 5 (0.82%) Retail
12 4 (0.66%) Manufacturing
12 4 (0.66%) Police
13 3 (0.49%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.33%) Front Office
14 2 (0.33%) Pharmaceutical
15 1 (0.16%) Electronics
Job Titles
1 150 (24.63%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 48 (7.88%) Support Engineer
3 41 (6.73%) Senior
4 38 (6.24%) Cloud Engineer
5 35 (5.75%) Analyst
6 33 (5.42%) 3rd Line Engineer
7 32 (5.25%) Architect
8 31 (5.09%) Lead
9 29 (4.76%) IT Support
10 28 (4.60%) Wintel Engineer
11 26 (4.27%) Administrator
12 23 (3.78%) IT Engineer
13 21 (3.45%) Infrastructure Support
14 20 (3.28%) Developer
15 19 (3.12%) Server Engineer
15 19 (3.12%) Windows Engineer
16 18 (2.96%) 3rd Line Support
17 17 (2.79%) Azure Engineer
17 17 (2.79%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
17 17 (2.79%) Systems Administrator
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (4.93%) .NET
2 26 (4.27%) .NET Framework
3 19 (3.12%) LDAP
4 18 (2.96%) OAuth
5 17 (2.79%) SAML
6 15 (2.46%) 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 (9.52%) PKI
2 41 (6.73%) Clustering
3 36 (5.91%) Replication
4 34 (5.58%) Onboarding
5 33 (5.42%) Data Centre
6 31 (5.09%) Hybrid Cloud
7 21 (3.45%) Management Information System
8 20 (3.28%) Legacy Systems
9 14 (2.30%) Self-Motivation
10 13 (2.13%) 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 (1.31%) Driving Licence
14 8 (1.31%) NHS
14 8 (1.31%) Security Posture
15 7 (1.15%) Private Cloud
15 7 (1.15%) Public Cloud
Operating Systems
1 609 (100.00%) Windows
2 165 (27.09%) Linux
3 56 (9.20%) Windows Server 2019
4 42 (6.90%) Windows Server 2016
5 41 (6.73%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 41 (6.73%) Windows 10
6 32 (5.25%) Windows Server 2012
7 31 (5.09%) Unix
8 21 (3.45%) Ubuntu
9 10 (1.64%) Windows Server 2003
10 9 (1.48%) AIX
10 9 (1.48%) VMS
10 9 (1.48%) Windows Server 2008
11 8 (1.31%) CentOS
11 8 (1.31%) Solaris
12 4 (0.66%) Alpine Linux
12 4 (0.66%) Mac OS
13 3 (0.49%) Android
13 3 (0.49%) Windows 7
14 2 (0.33%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 180 (29.56%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 102 (16.75%) High Availability
2 102 (16.75%) Problem-Solving
3 100 (16.42%) Disaster Recovery
4 83 (13.63%) ITIL
5 71 (11.66%) Migration
6 57 (9.36%) Change Management
6 57 (9.36%) ITSM
7 49 (8.05%) DevOps
8 48 (7.88%) Infrastructure as Code
9 47 (7.72%) Project Delivery
10 44 (7.22%) Agile
11 43 (7.06%) Root Cause Analysis
12 41 (6.73%) Technical Leadership
13 39 (6.40%) Runbook
14 38 (6.24%) Vulnerability Remediation
15 37 (6.08%) Cybersecurity
15 37 (6.08%) Service Management
16 36 (5.91%) Patch Management
17 35 (5.75%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 224 (36.78%) PowerShell
2 89 (14.61%) SQL
3 62 (10.18%) Python
4 29 (4.76%) Bash
5 27 (4.43%) C#
6 25 (4.11%) PL/SQL
7 19 (3.12%) T-SQL
8 16 (2.63%) JavaScript
9 10 (1.64%) Java
10 8 (1.31%) 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
1 244 (40.07%) Security Cleared
2 139 (22.82%) SC Cleared
3 104 (17.08%) DV Cleared
4 71 (11.66%) Degree
5 49 (8.05%) Microsoft Certification
6 27 (4.43%) MCSE
7 26 (4.27%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
8 19 (3.12%) MCSA
9 16 (2.63%) VCAP
10 14 (2.30%) Cisco Certification
11 11 (1.81%) BPSS Clearance
11 11 (1.81%) CISSP
12 10 (1.64%) Azure Certification
13 9 (1.48%) CCNA
13 9 (1.48%) CISM
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 (6.08%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 28 (4.60%) QA
3 25 (4.11%) NIST
4 21 (3.45%) GDPR
5 14 (2.30%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 14 (2.30%) SLA
6 11 (1.81%) 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
1 355 (58.29%) Active Directory
2 214 (35.14%) VMware Infrastructure
3 102 (16.75%) Hyper-V
4 77 (12.64%) VMware ESXi
5 73 (11.99%) vSphere
6 51 (8.37%) Virtual Machines
7 36 (5.91%) Docker
8 34 (5.58%) VMware NSX
9 13 (2.13%) 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%) Firmware
14 4 (0.66%) Oracle RAC
Systems Management
1 83 (13.63%) Ansible
2 70 (11.49%) vCenter Server
3 65 (10.67%) Microsoft Intune
4 58 (9.52%) SCCM
5 50 (8.21%) Terraform
6 39 (6.40%) Kubernetes
7 37 (6.08%) SCOM
8 31 (5.09%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 27 (4.43%) Single Sign-On
10 25 (4.11%) WSUS
11 15 (2.46%) vMotion
12 12 (1.97%) Puppet
13 9 (1.48%) Nessus
14 8 (1.31%) 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
1 271 (44.50%) Microsoft
2 259 (42.53%) VMware
3 64 (10.51%) Cisco
4 63 (10.34%) Citrix
5 54 (8.87%) Oracle
6 41 (6.73%) ServiceNow
7 27 (4.43%) Dell
8 24 (3.94%) Red Hat
9 20 (3.28%) 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 (2.13%) Google
13 13 (2.13%) Qualys
13 13 (2.13%) SolarWinds
13 13 (2.13%) Thales
348 Windows Server jobs in England