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 8 May 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
8 May 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 180 134 90
Rank change year-on-year -46 -44 -3
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 579 526 896
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.43% 2.17% 2.43%
As % of the Operating Systems category 14.46% 15.41% 17.87%
Number of daily rates quoted 415 364 653
10th Percentile £253 £325 £210
25th Percentile £400 £421 £313
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £485 £536 £460
Median % change year-on-year -9.56% +16.58% -8.00%
75th Percentile £575 £606 £594
90th Percentile £650 £692 £698
UK median daily rate £483 £525 £450
% change year-on-year -8.00% +16.67% -10.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 38 3 18
10th Percentile £19.25 £15.89 £14.89
25th Percentile £20.91 £16.73 £16.06
Median hourly rate £27.16 £18.75 £46.75
Median % change year-on-year +44.85% -59.89% +46.09%
75th Percentile £67.84 £46.56 £61.60
90th Percentile £74.00 £62.88 £66.88
UK median hourly rate £24.97 £17.75 £46.75
% change year-on-year +40.68% -62.03% +57.67%

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 4,003 3,413 5,013
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.88% 14.09% 13.61%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,645 2,314 3,424
10th Percentile £185 £200 £183
25th Percentile £310 £313 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £475 £465
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +2.15% -9.27%
75th Percentile £569 £600 £588
90th Percentile £659 £700 £700
UK median daily rate £450 £475 £468
% change year-on-year -5.26% +1.50% -7.33%
Number of hourly rates quoted 264 154 363
10th Percentile £16.01 £15.22 £12.75
25th Percentile £20.13 £17.44 £14.95
Median hourly rate £47.50 £23.15 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year +105.18% +5.23% -41.21%
75th Percentile £67.84 £63.63 £60.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £68.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £47.50 £23.40 £22.08
% change year-on-year +102.99% +6.00% -42.66%

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 8 May 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 8 May 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 8 May 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 -62 173 £500 -4.76% 74
South East -37 130 £515 -6.45% 110
North of England -76 86 £416 -14.18% 69
Midlands -30 68 £444 +10.94% 45
North West -41 65 £358 -18.17% 31
East of England +6 64 £450 -3.54% 27
South West -50 56 £518 -10.00% 36
West Midlands -36 41 £438 +12.90% 20
East Midlands -11 25 £450 -10.00% 25
Yorkshire -63 19 £500 -6.98% 32
North East -19 2 £330 -40.00% 7
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 74 (12.78%) Microsoft Exchange
2 32 (5.53%) IIS
3 21 (3.63%) SharePoint
4 7 (1.21%) nginx
4 7 (1.21%) Tomcat
5 6 (1.04%) Apache
6 5 (0.86%) SAS
7 3 (0.52%) WebLogic
8 2 (0.35%) Confluence
8 2 (0.35%) Exchange Server 2010
8 2 (0.35%) Skype for Business
8 2 (0.35%) WordPress
9 1 (0.17%) ArcGIS
9 1 (0.17%) OpenStack
9 1 (0.17%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 1 (0.17%) WebSphere
Applications
1 16 (2.76%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.69%) Microsoft Excel
3 1 (0.17%) Microsoft PowerPoint
Business Applications
1 9 (1.55%) Remedy ITSM
2 3 (0.52%) Veritas eDiscovery
3 1 (0.17%) Dynamics CRM
3 1 (0.17%) Oracle FAH
3 1 (0.17%) Oracle General Ledger
3 1 (0.17%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
3 1 (0.17%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
Cloud Services
1 206 (35.58%) Azure
2 103 (17.79%) Microsoft 365
3 92 (15.89%) Entra ID
4 52 (8.98%) AWS
5 21 (3.63%) IaaS
6 18 (3.11%) Azure Monitor
7 14 (2.42%) PaaS
7 14 (2.42%) Power Platform
8 12 (2.07%) Nutanix
9 10 (1.73%) Azure DevOps
9 10 (1.73%) GitHub
10 9 (1.55%) SaaS
11 8 (1.38%) GCP
12 7 (1.21%) Amazon EC2
13 6 (1.04%) Cohesity
14 5 (0.86%) Microsoft Copilot
14 5 (0.86%) Mimecast
14 5 (0.86%) OCI
15 4 (0.69%) Azure AKS
15 4 (0.69%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 196 (33.85%) DNS
2 137 (23.66%) DHCP
3 103 (17.79%) Firewall
4 53 (9.15%) VPN
5 45 (7.77%) WAN
6 43 (7.43%) TCP/IP
7 38 (6.56%) LAN
8 23 (3.97%) Network Security
9 19 (3.28%) VLAN
10 18 (3.11%) SAN
11 17 (2.94%) FTP
12 15 (2.59%) Kerberos
12 15 (2.59%) SMTP
13 13 (2.25%) SSL
13 13 (2.25%) Wi-Fi
14 11 (1.90%) VoIP
15 9 (1.55%) IPv4
15 9 (1.55%) Skype
15 9 (1.55%) VSAN
16 8 (1.38%) NetScaler
Database & Business Intelligence
1 102 (17.62%) SQL Server
2 14 (2.42%) Oracle Database
2 14 (2.42%) Power BI
3 11 (1.90%) Elasticsearch
4 7 (1.21%) NoSQL
4 7 (1.21%) SQL Server Integration Services
5 6 (1.04%) DB2
5 6 (1.04%) PostgreSQL
6 4 (0.69%) Oracle BI EE
6 4 (0.69%) Relational Database
7 3 (0.52%) Amazon RDS
7 3 (0.52%) Data Mining
7 3 (0.52%) GIS
8 2 (0.35%) Big Data
8 2 (0.35%) MongoDB
8 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Analysis Services
8 2 (0.35%) SQL Server Reporting Services
9 1 (0.17%) Data Warehouse
9 1 (0.17%) Oracle Database 11g
9 1 (0.17%) Oracle Database 12c
Development Applications
1 12 (2.07%) JIRA
2 10 (1.73%) Visual Studio
3 7 (1.21%) Git
3 7 (1.21%) GitLab
3 7 (1.21%) Jenkins
3 7 (1.21%) Robot Framework
4 6 (1.04%) Sonatype Nexus
5 3 (0.52%) MSI
6 2 (0.35%) AdminStudio
6 2 (0.35%) Bitbucket
6 2 (0.35%) InstallShield
6 2 (0.35%) Octopus Deploy
7 1 (0.17%) Artifactory
7 1 (0.17%) eggPlant
7 1 (0.17%) GoCD
7 1 (0.17%) Postman
7 1 (0.17%) TeamCity
General
1 129 (22.28%) Social Skills
2 62 (10.71%) Finance
3 61 (10.54%) Public Sector
4 45 (7.77%) Analytical Skills
5 28 (4.84%) Documentation Skills
6 23 (3.97%) Banking
7 18 (3.11%) Legal
8 13 (2.25%) Military
9 12 (2.07%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 9 (1.55%) Law
11 7 (1.21%) Organisational Skills
12 6 (1.04%) Local Government
13 5 (0.86%) Police
13 5 (0.86%) Retail
13 5 (0.86%) Telecoms
14 4 (0.69%) Front Office
14 4 (0.69%) Marketing
15 3 (0.52%) Aerospace
15 3 (0.52%) Financial Institution
16 2 (0.35%) Manufacturing
Job Titles
1 129 (22.28%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 45 (7.77%) Analyst
3 38 (6.56%) Senior
4 33 (5.70%) IT Support
4 33 (5.70%) Support Engineer
5 29 (5.01%) Wintel Engineer
6 28 (4.84%) Architect
7 27 (4.66%) 3rd Line Engineer
8 25 (4.32%) Windows Engineer
9 23 (3.97%) Developer
10 22 (3.80%) Lead
11 21 (3.63%) Server Engineer
12 19 (3.28%) IT Engineer
12 19 (3.28%) Platform Engineer
13 18 (3.11%) C# Developer
13 18 (3.11%) Cloud Engineer
14 17 (2.94%) 3rd Line Support
14 17 (2.94%) Support Analyst
15 16 (2.76%) Administrator
16 15 (2.59%) Technical Analyst
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 32 (5.53%) .NET
2 27 (4.66%) .NET Framework
3 21 (3.63%) REST
4 20 (3.45%) OAuth
5 19 (3.28%) SAML
6 18 (3.11%) LDAP
7 6 (1.04%) OAuth2
7 6 (1.04%) OpenID
8 5 (0.86%) JSON
8 5 (0.86%) Middleware
8 5 (0.86%) React
9 4 (0.69%) ADO
9 4 (0.69%) AngularJS
9 4 (0.69%) EJB
9 4 (0.69%) ISPF
9 4 (0.69%) Keycloak
10 3 (0.52%) Java EE
10 3 (0.52%) OpenLayers
10 3 (0.52%) Software Packaging
10 3 (0.52%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 50 (8.64%) PKI
2 42 (7.25%) Replication
3 41 (7.08%) Clustering
4 35 (6.04%) Data Centre
5 31 (5.35%) Onboarding
6 25 (4.32%) Hybrid Cloud
7 19 (3.28%) Legacy Systems
8 18 (3.11%) Enterprise Software
9 17 (2.94%) Self-Motivation
10 14 (2.42%) Enterprise Storage
11 12 (2.07%) Management Information System
12 9 (1.55%) Analytical Mindset
12 9 (1.55%) Product Ownership
13 8 (1.38%) Driving Licence
13 8 (1.38%) Legacy Code
13 8 (1.38%) Linux Command Line
13 8 (1.38%) Private Cloud
13 8 (1.38%) Virtual Team
14 7 (1.21%) NHS
15 6 (1.04%) Smartcard
Operating Systems
1 579 (100.00%) Windows
2 148 (25.56%) Linux
3 52 (8.98%) Windows Server 2019
4 49 (8.46%) Windows Server 2016
5 34 (5.87%) Windows 10
6 32 (5.53%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 31 (5.35%) Windows Server 2012
8 23 (3.97%) Unix
9 15 (2.59%) Ubuntu
10 10 (1.73%) Windows Server 2003
11 9 (1.55%) AIX
11 9 (1.55%) VMS
12 8 (1.38%) Solaris
12 8 (1.38%) Windows Server 2008
13 7 (1.21%) CentOS
14 5 (0.86%) Android
15 4 (0.69%) zOS
16 3 (0.52%) Mac OS
17 2 (0.35%) Apple iOS
17 2 (0.35%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 162 (27.98%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 97 (16.75%) Disaster Recovery
3 94 (16.23%) ITIL
4 92 (15.89%) High Availability
5 84 (14.51%) Problem-Solving
6 65 (11.23%) Agile
6 65 (11.23%) Migration
7 54 (9.33%) Change Management
8 46 (7.94%) ITSM
8 46 (7.94%) Project Delivery
9 39 (6.74%) DevOps
10 38 (6.56%) Service Management
11 35 (6.04%) Infrastructure as Code
12 33 (5.70%) Identity Access Management
13 32 (5.53%) Business Intelligence
13 32 (5.53%) Runbook
14 31 (5.35%) CI/CD
15 29 (5.01%) Cybersecurity
16 28 (4.84%) Root Cause Analysis
16 28 (4.84%) Technical Leadership
Programming Languages
1 213 (36.79%) PowerShell
2 82 (14.16%) SQL
3 49 (8.46%) Python
4 32 (5.53%) C#
5 27 (4.66%) PL/SQL
6 25 (4.32%) Bash
7 21 (3.63%) T-SQL
8 16 (2.76%) JavaScript
9 12 (2.07%) Java
10 4 (0.69%) Bicep
10 4 (0.69%) JCL
10 4 (0.69%) REXX
11 3 (0.52%) Shell Script
12 2 (0.35%) Delphi
12 2 (0.35%) Perl
12 2 (0.35%) PHP
13 1 (0.17%) Ladder Logic
13 1 (0.17%) TypeScript
13 1 (0.17%) VB
Qualifications
1 238 (41.11%) Security Cleared
2 154 (26.60%) SC Cleared
3 88 (15.20%) DV Cleared
4 67 (11.57%) Degree
5 48 (8.29%) Microsoft Certification
6 26 (4.49%) MCSE
7 23 (3.97%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
8 17 (2.94%) MCSA
9 16 (2.76%) VCAP
10 12 (2.07%) Cisco Certification
11 11 (1.90%) Azure Certification
11 11 (1.90%) BPSS Clearance
12 9 (1.55%) CCNA
13 7 (1.21%) CISSP
14 5 (0.86%) AWS Certification
14 5 (0.86%) CCNP
14 5 (0.86%) CISM
14 5 (0.86%) CompTIA Security+
15 4 (0.69%) ITIL Certification
15 4 (0.69%) MCTS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 30 (5.18%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 27 (4.66%) QA
3 25 (4.32%) GDPR
4 20 (3.45%) NIST
5 15 (2.59%) Sarbanes-Oxley
6 11 (1.90%) Cyber Essentials
7 10 (1.73%) SLA
8 4 (0.69%) NIST 800
9 3 (0.52%) NCSC
10 2 (0.35%) ISO/IEC 42001
11 1 (0.17%) Basel III
11 1 (0.17%) DICOM
11 1 (0.17%) GAAP
11 1 (0.17%) HL7
11 1 (0.17%) IFRS
11 1 (0.17%) IFRS 17
11 1 (0.17%) IFRS 9
11 1 (0.17%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.17%) SOC 2
System Software
1 336 (58.03%) Active Directory
2 201 (34.72%) VMware Infrastructure
3 92 (15.89%) Hyper-V
4 60 (10.36%) vSphere
5 54 (9.33%) VMware ESXi
6 42 (7.25%) Virtual Machines
7 35 (6.04%) Docker
8 26 (4.49%) VMware NSX
9 12 (2.07%) KVM
10 10 (1.73%) Microsoft App-V
10 10 (1.73%) Virtual Desktop
11 9 (1.55%) BitLocker
12 7 (1.21%) XenApp
13 5 (0.86%) Terminal Services
13 5 (0.86%) Virtual Servers
13 5 (0.86%) XenDesktop
14 4 (0.69%) Job Entry Subsystem
15 3 (0.52%) NFS
15 3 (0.52%) vCloud
15 3 (0.52%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 75 (12.95%) Ansible
2 72 (12.44%) SCCM
3 70 (12.09%) Microsoft Intune
4 55 (9.50%) vCenter Server
5 43 (7.43%) Terraform
6 34 (5.87%) Active Directory Federation Services
7 32 (5.53%) Kubernetes
7 32 (5.53%) Single Sign-On
8 28 (4.84%) SCOM
9 26 (4.49%) WSUS
10 11 (1.90%) vMotion
11 10 (1.73%) Puppet
12 9 (1.55%) Nessus
13 6 (1.04%) IBM BigFix
14 5 (0.86%) Control-M
14 5 (0.86%) VxRail
15 4 (0.69%) Backup Exec
15 4 (0.69%) Failover Clustering
15 4 (0.69%) Microsoft Clustering
15 4 (0.69%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 244 (42.14%) VMware
2 243 (41.97%) Microsoft
3 68 (11.74%) Citrix
4 59 (10.19%) Cisco
5 52 (8.98%) Oracle
6 37 (6.39%) ServiceNow
7 22 (3.80%) Dell
8 21 (3.63%) Red Hat
9 19 (3.28%) Veeam
10 16 (2.76%) Okta
10 16 (2.76%) SolarWinds
11 15 (2.59%) BeyondTrust
11 15 (2.59%) NetApp
12 14 (2.42%) CyberArk
12 14 (2.42%) IBM
12 14 (2.42%) Palo Alto
13 13 (2.25%) BMC
13 13 (2.25%) HP
14 12 (2.07%) Tenable
15 9 (1.55%) Remedy
333 Windows Server jobs in England