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

 6 months to
23 Jun 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 185 132 91
Rank change year-on-year -53 -41 -11
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 611 533 899
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.41% 2.13% 2.40%
As % of the Operating Systems category 14.68% 15.04% 17.42%
Number of daily rates quoted 413 382 660
10th Percentile £263 £350 £213
25th Percentile £400 £427 £345
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £475 £550 £488
Median % change year-on-year -13.64% +12.82% -2.50%
75th Percentile £588 £600 £594
90th Percentile £668 £688 £675
UK median daily rate £475 £529 £475
% change year-on-year -10.25% +11.42% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 5 19
10th Percentile £19.25 £14.32 £15.18
25th Percentile £20.79 £15.33 £16.13
Median hourly rate £26.00 £32.77 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year -20.66% -14.88% +31.40%
75th Percentile £65.96 £73.75 £61.60
90th Percentile £74.00 £76.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £24.00 £17.75 £38.50
% change year-on-year +35.21% -53.90% +31.40%

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 4,163 3,545 5,160
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.61% 14.19% 13.76%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,717 2,393 3,418
10th Percentile £190 £200 £190
25th Percentile £313 £313 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £458 £465 £475
Median % change year-on-year -1.61% -2.11% -5.00%
75th Percentile £575 £588 £588
90th Percentile £651 £689 £700
UK median daily rate £463 £465 £475
% change year-on-year -0.54% -2.11% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 278 183 398
10th Percentile £16.00 £15.12 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.25 £17.29 £16.00
Median hourly rate £32.50 £19.00 £24.18
Median % change year-on-year +71.05% -21.42% -46.33%
75th Percentile £65.00 £45.83 £65.00
90th Percentile £71.65 £68.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £28.00 £22.00 £24.18
% change year-on-year +27.27% -9.02% -47.43%

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 23 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 23 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 23 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 -53 189 £475 -9.52% 54
South East -36 140 £514 -6.55% 98
North of England -81 87 £458 -8.40% 73
Midlands -10 71 £450 - 48
South West -40 61 £508 -11.74% 39
East of England -13 60 £450 -18.18% 35
North West -49 53 £447 -4.49% 44
West Midlands -37 42 £438 +9.38% 23
Yorkshire -54 31 £625 +16.28% 21
East Midlands +2 27 £450 -10.00% 25
North East -37 3 £500 - 10
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 69 (11.29%) Microsoft Exchange
2 28 (4.58%) IIS
2 28 (4.58%) SharePoint
3 10 (1.64%) nginx
3 10 (1.64%) Tomcat
4 7 (1.15%) Apache
5 3 (0.49%) WebLogic
6 2 (0.33%) CloudStack
6 2 (0.33%) SAS
6 2 (0.33%) Skype for Business
7 1 (0.16%) ArcGIS
7 1 (0.16%) Confluence
7 1 (0.16%) OpenStack
7 1 (0.16%) Oracle SOA Suite
7 1 (0.16%) WebSphere
Applications
1 10 (1.64%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.65%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 2 (0.33%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 14 (2.29%) 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
1 239 (39.12%) Azure
2 102 (16.69%) Entra ID
3 101 (16.53%) Microsoft 365
4 75 (12.27%) AWS
5 23 (3.76%) IaaS
6 19 (3.11%) Azure Monitor
7 17 (2.78%) GCP
7 17 (2.78%) Power Platform
8 14 (2.29%) PaaS
9 12 (1.96%) GitHub
10 10 (1.64%) Nutanix
11 9 (1.47%) SaaS
12 8 (1.31%) Amazon EC2
12 8 (1.31%) Azure DevOps
12 8 (1.31%) Azure Sentinel
13 7 (1.15%) GitHub Actions
14 6 (0.98%) Cohesity
14 6 (0.98%) OpenShift
15 5 (0.82%) Azure Logic Apps
15 5 (0.82%) Azure Stack
Communications & Networking
1 200 (32.73%) DNS
2 137 (22.42%) DHCP
3 95 (15.55%) Firewall
4 52 (8.51%) VPN
5 48 (7.86%) WAN
6 40 (6.55%) LAN
7 39 (6.38%) TCP/IP
8 28 (4.58%) SAN
9 23 (3.76%) Network Security
10 20 (3.27%) VLAN
11 16 (2.62%) SSL
12 15 (2.45%) SMTP
13 14 (2.29%) Kerberos
13 14 (2.29%) VoIP
14 13 (2.13%) FTP
14 13 (2.13%) Wi-Fi
15 12 (1.96%) NAS
16 11 (1.80%) SSH
17 8 (1.31%) NetScaler
17 8 (1.31%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 123 (20.13%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.78%) Power BI
3 13 (2.13%) Elasticsearch
4 12 (1.96%) Amazon RDS
4 12 (1.96%) PostgreSQL
5 11 (1.80%) Oracle Database
6 9 (1.47%) NoSQL
7 7 (1.15%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 6 (0.98%) Db2
9 5 (0.82%) Big Data
10 4 (0.65%) GIS
10 4 (0.65%) Oracle BI EE
11 3 (0.49%) Data Mining
11 3 (0.49%) MySQL
11 3 (0.49%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.49%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.33%) MongoDB
12 2 (0.33%) SQL Server Analysis Services
13 1 (0.16%) Oracle Database 11g
13 1 (0.16%) Oracle Reports
Development Applications
1 10 (1.64%) JIRA
2 9 (1.47%) Visual Studio
3 7 (1.15%) Git
4 6 (0.98%) Jenkins
5 4 (0.65%) GitLab
5 4 (0.65%) Robot Framework
6 3 (0.49%) MSI
6 3 (0.49%) Sonatype Nexus
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
1 125 (20.46%) Social Skills
2 63 (10.31%) Finance
3 60 (9.82%) Public Sector
4 49 (8.02%) Analytical Skills
5 28 (4.58%) Banking
6 26 (4.26%) Documentation Skills
7 17 (2.78%) Legal
8 14 (2.29%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 14 (2.29%) Military
9 11 (1.80%) Law
10 8 (1.31%) Organisational Skills
11 5 (0.82%) Local Government
11 5 (0.82%) Retail
12 4 (0.65%) Marketing
12 4 (0.65%) Police
13 3 (0.49%) Manufacturing
13 3 (0.49%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.33%) Front Office
14 2 (0.33%) Pharmaceutical
15 1 (0.16%) Games
Job Titles
1 155 (25.37%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 49 (8.02%) Support Engineer
3 42 (6.87%) Senior
4 41 (6.71%) Cloud Engineer
5 36 (5.89%) Analyst
6 32 (5.24%) Architect
7 31 (5.07%) Lead
8 30 (4.91%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 29 (4.75%) IT Support
10 24 (3.93%) Administrator
10 24 (3.93%) IT Engineer
10 24 (3.93%) Wintel Engineer
11 22 (3.60%) Server Engineer
12 21 (3.44%) Infrastructure Support
13 20 (3.27%) Developer
14 19 (3.11%) Windows Engineer
15 18 (2.95%) 3rd Line Support
16 17 (2.78%) Azure Engineer
16 17 (2.78%) Infrastructure Support Engineer
16 17 (2.78%) IT Infrastructure Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 30 (4.91%) .NET
2 26 (4.26%) .NET Framework
3 20 (3.27%) OAuth
4 19 (3.11%) LDAP
5 17 (2.78%) REST
5 17 (2.78%) SAML
6 7 (1.15%) JSON
7 6 (0.98%) Elastic Stack
7 6 (0.98%) RabbitMQ
8 5 (0.82%) Keycloak
8 5 (0.82%) OAuth2
8 5 (0.82%) OpenID
8 5 (0.82%) Software Packaging
9 4 (0.65%) ADO
9 4 (0.65%) Azure Blueprints
9 4 (0.65%) EJB
9 4 (0.65%) YAML
10 3 (0.49%) ARM Templates
10 3 (0.49%) Middleware
10 3 (0.49%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 57 (9.33%) PKI
2 39 (6.38%) Clustering
3 34 (5.56%) Onboarding
3 34 (5.56%) Replication
4 33 (5.40%) Data Centre
5 32 (5.24%) Hybrid Cloud
6 23 (3.76%) Management Information System
7 20 (3.27%) Legacy Systems
8 14 (2.29%) Self-Motivation
9 13 (2.13%) Linux Command Line
10 12 (1.96%) Enterprise Software
11 11 (1.80%) Virtual Team
12 10 (1.64%) Enterprise Storage
12 10 (1.64%) Security Posture
13 9 (1.47%) Cloud Native
13 9 (1.47%) Product Ownership
14 8 (1.31%) Driving Licence
14 8 (1.31%) NHS
15 7 (1.15%) Data Protection Act
15 7 (1.15%) Smartcard
Operating Systems
1 611 (100.00%) Windows
2 163 (26.68%) Linux
3 53 (8.67%) Windows Server 2019
4 43 (7.04%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 41 (6.71%) Windows 10
6 39 (6.38%) Windows Server 2016
7 34 (5.56%) Unix
8 30 (4.91%) Windows Server 2012
9 21 (3.44%) Ubuntu
10 9 (1.47%) AIX
10 9 (1.47%) CentOS
10 9 (1.47%) VMS
10 9 (1.47%) Windows Server 2003
10 9 (1.47%) Windows Server 2008
11 8 (1.31%) Solaris
12 5 (0.82%) Mac OS
13 4 (0.65%) Alpine Linux
14 3 (0.49%) Android
14 3 (0.49%) Windows 7
15 2 (0.33%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 185 (30.28%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 105 (17.18%) Problem-Solving
3 101 (16.53%) High Availability
4 99 (16.20%) Disaster Recovery
5 82 (13.42%) ITIL
6 72 (11.78%) Migration
7 56 (9.17%) Change Management
7 56 (9.17%) ITSM
8 48 (7.86%) DevOps
8 48 (7.86%) Infrastructure as Code
9 46 (7.53%) Project Delivery
10 43 (7.04%) Root Cause Analysis
11 42 (6.87%) Runbook
11 42 (6.87%) Vulnerability Remediation
12 41 (6.71%) Agile
12 41 (6.71%) Technical Leadership
13 39 (6.38%) Patch Management
14 38 (6.22%) Cybersecurity
15 37 (6.06%) Continuous Improvement
15 37 (6.06%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 222 (36.33%) PowerShell
2 92 (15.06%) SQL
3 61 (9.98%) Python
4 29 (4.75%) Bash
5 27 (4.42%) C#
6 25 (4.09%) PL/SQL
7 19 (3.11%) T-SQL
8 16 (2.62%) 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
1 240 (39.28%) Security Cleared
2 135 (22.09%) SC Cleared
3 104 (17.02%) DV Cleared
4 71 (11.62%) Degree
5 46 (7.53%) Microsoft Certification
6 24 (3.93%) MCSE
6 24 (3.93%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
7 17 (2.78%) MCSA
8 14 (2.29%) VCAP
9 13 (2.13%) Cisco Certification
10 11 (1.80%) BPSS Clearance
10 11 (1.80%) CISSP
11 10 (1.64%) Azure Certification
12 9 (1.47%) CISM
13 8 (1.31%) CCNA
14 7 (1.15%) CCNP
15 6 (0.98%) AWS Certification
16 5 (0.82%) ITIL Certification
17 4 (0.65%) MCITP
17 4 (0.65%) MCTS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 37 (6.06%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 28 (4.58%) QA
3 25 (4.09%) NIST
4 21 (3.44%) GDPR
5 15 (2.45%) SLA
6 14 (2.29%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 13 (2.13%) Cyber Essentials
8 5 (0.82%) SOC 2
9 3 (0.49%) NCSC
10 2 (0.33%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.33%) Government Security Classifications
10 2 (0.33%) HIPAA
10 2 (0.33%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.16%) Accessibility
11 1 (0.16%) Basel III
11 1 (0.16%) Disclosure Scotland
11 1 (0.16%) IFRS
11 1 (0.16%) IFRS 17
11 1 (0.16%) IFRS 9
11 1 (0.16%) ISO/IEC 42001
System Software
1 351 (57.45%) Active Directory
2 217 (35.52%) VMware Infrastructure
3 99 (16.20%) Hyper-V
4 78 (12.77%) VMware ESXi
5 74 (12.11%) vSphere
6 49 (8.02%) Virtual Machines
7 34 (5.56%) Docker
7 34 (5.56%) VMware NSX
8 15 (2.45%) Virtual Desktop
9 12 (1.96%) vCloud
10 11 (1.80%) KVM
10 11 (1.80%) Microsoft App-V
11 10 (1.64%) BitLocker
12 6 (0.98%) Virtual Servers
12 6 (0.98%) VMware Workstation
12 6 (0.98%) XenApp
13 5 (0.82%) XenDesktop
14 4 (0.65%) Firmware
14 4 (0.65%) Oracle RAC
14 4 (0.65%) Terminal Services
Systems Management
1 82 (13.42%) Ansible
2 71 (11.62%) vCenter Server
3 62 (10.15%) Microsoft Intune
4 55 (9.00%) SCCM
5 49 (8.02%) Terraform
6 37 (6.06%) Kubernetes
6 37 (6.06%) SCOM
7 30 (4.91%) Active Directory Federation Services
8 27 (4.42%) Single Sign-On
9 26 (4.26%) WSUS
10 14 (2.29%) vMotion
11 11 (1.80%) Nessus
11 11 (1.80%) Puppet
12 8 (1.31%) Avamar
13 7 (1.15%) VxRail
14 6 (0.98%) Grafana
14 6 (0.98%) IBM BigFix
14 6 (0.98%) Oracle RMAN
14 6 (0.98%) Prometheus
14 6 (0.98%) WMI
Vendors
1 268 (43.86%) Microsoft
2 260 (42.55%) VMware
3 66 (10.80%) Cisco
4 64 (10.47%) Citrix
5 55 (9.00%) Oracle
6 41 (6.71%) ServiceNow
7 27 (4.42%) Dell
8 25 (4.09%) Red Hat
9 22 (3.60%) Okta
10 20 (3.27%) Tenable
11 18 (2.95%) BeyondTrust
12 16 (2.62%) IBM
13 14 (2.29%) CyberArk
13 14 (2.29%) HP
13 14 (2.29%) Remedy
14 13 (2.13%) Qualys
14 13 (2.13%) SolarWinds
14 13 (2.13%) Splunk
14 13 (2.13%) Thales
14 13 (2.13%) Veeam
315 Windows Server jobs in England