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 9 March 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
9 Mar 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 187 118 85
Rank change year-on-year -69 -33 +7
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 544 578 942
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.51% 2.32% 2.47%
As % of the Operating Systems category 13.01% 16.29% 17.63%
Number of daily rates quoted 415 404 644
10th Percentile £219 £313 £190
25th Percentile £400 £400 £275
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £440
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% +19.32% -12.00%
75th Percentile £600 £606 £575
90th Percentile £715 £675 £650
UK median daily rate £500 £500 £450
% change year-on-year - +11.11% -9.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 35 7 32
10th Percentile £15.50 £17.01 £16.00
25th Percentile £19.79 £31.56 £23.38
Median hourly rate £22.50 £53.00 £56.28
Median % change year-on-year -57.55% -5.83% +92.08%
75th Percentile £29.06 £92.88 £68.63
90th Percentile £48.32 £112.00 £76.53
UK median hourly rate £22.50 £45.00 £56.28
% change year-on-year -50.00% -20.04% +92.08%

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 4,183 3,548 5,344
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 11.62% 14.25% 14.04%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,768 2,363 3,609
10th Percentile £180 £200 £175
25th Percentile £268 £313 £263
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £450 £475 £450
Median % change year-on-year -5.26% +5.56% -13.46%
75th Percentile £565 £600 £588
90th Percentile £669 £700 £700
UK median daily rate £445 £475 £450
% change year-on-year -6.32% +5.56% -12.37%
Number of hourly rates quoted 315 127 386
10th Percentile £14.00 £16.25 £13.29
25th Percentile £17.84 £18.29 £15.54
Median hourly rate £22.81 £34.00 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year -32.91% +51.11% -15.09%
75th Percentile £60.00 £67.25 £60.00
90th Percentile £68.00 £71.10 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £23.00 £28.71 £22.50
% change year-on-year -19.87% +27.58% -15.09%

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 9 March 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 9 March 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 9 March 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 -63 175 £500 - 72
South East -23 114 £500 -8.26% 130
North of England -74 81 £373 -21.58% 86
South West -42 65 £575 - 34
North West -28 61 £364 -20.00% 56
Midlands -46 53 £438 +24.11% 42
East of England -5 52 £450 - 34
West Midlands -40 38 £444 +53.02% 19
Yorkshire -69 16 £375 -28.57% 25
East Midlands -33 15 £415 +3.75% 23
North East -14 7 £550 +2.33% 6
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 77 (14.15%) Microsoft Exchange
2 29 (5.33%) SharePoint
3 19 (3.49%) IIS
4 8 (1.47%) Apache
5 6 (1.10%) Confluence
6 4 (0.74%) nginx
6 4 (0.74%) Skype for Business
6 4 (0.74%) Tomcat
7 3 (0.55%) SAS
7 3 (0.55%) WebSphere
8 2 (0.37%) Exchange Server 2010
8 2 (0.37%) iPlanet
8 2 (0.37%) JBoss
8 2 (0.37%) WebLogic
8 2 (0.37%) WebSphere Application Server
8 2 (0.37%) WordPress
9 1 (0.18%) ArcGIS
9 1 (0.18%) Oracle SOA Suite
9 1 (0.18%) SharePoint 2010
9 1 (0.18%) SharePoint Server
Applications
1 24 (4.41%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.74%) Microsoft Excel
3 2 (0.37%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 1 (0.18%) InfoPath
Business Applications
1 3 (0.55%) Remedy ITSM
1 3 (0.55%) Veritas eDiscovery
2 1 (0.18%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.18%) Oracle FAH
2 1 (0.18%) Oracle General Ledger
2 1 (0.18%) Oracle Procure-to-Pay
2 1 (0.18%) Oracle Subledger Accounting
2 1 (0.18%) SAP S/4HANA
2 1 (0.18%) SystmOne
Cloud Services
1 184 (33.82%) Azure
2 113 (20.77%) Microsoft 365
3 95 (17.46%) Entra ID
4 42 (7.72%) AWS
5 18 (3.31%) IaaS
6 13 (2.39%) PaaS
6 13 (2.39%) SaaS
7 11 (2.02%) Nutanix
8 8 (1.47%) Azure DevOps
9 7 (1.29%) Power Platform
10 5 (0.92%) Azure Monitor
10 5 (0.92%) Azure Sentinel
10 5 (0.92%) Mimecast
10 5 (0.92%) OCI
11 4 (0.74%) GCP
12 3 (0.55%) Amazon EKS
12 3 (0.55%) Amazon S3
12 3 (0.55%) GitHub
12 3 (0.55%) Microsoft Copilot
13 2 (0.37%) Power Automate
Communications & Networking
1 174 (31.99%) DNS
2 121 (22.24%) Firewall
3 120 (22.06%) DHCP
4 52 (9.56%) TCP/IP
5 49 (9.01%) WAN
6 46 (8.46%) VPN
7 43 (7.90%) LAN
8 25 (4.60%) Network Security
9 19 (3.49%) VLAN
10 18 (3.31%) Kerberos
11 14 (2.57%) FTP
11 14 (2.57%) Wi-Fi
11 14 (2.57%) Wireless
12 13 (2.39%) VoIP
13 11 (2.02%) Cisco IOS
14 10 (1.84%) BGP
14 10 (1.84%) SMTP
14 10 (1.84%) SSL
15 9 (1.65%) SAN
16 8 (1.47%) Cisco ISE
Database & Business Intelligence
1 75 (13.79%) SQL Server
2 16 (2.94%) Oracle Database
3 7 (1.29%) Elasticsearch
4 6 (1.10%) DB2
4 6 (1.10%) Power BI
5 4 (0.74%) NoSQL
5 4 (0.74%) PostgreSQL
5 4 (0.74%) Relational Database
6 2 (0.37%) Amazon RDS
6 2 (0.37%) Big Data
6 2 (0.37%) GIS
6 2 (0.37%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 1 (0.18%) Data Warehouse
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle BI EE
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database 11g
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Database 12c
7 1 (0.18%) Oracle Reports
7 1 (0.18%) SAP HANA
7 1 (0.18%) SQL Server Analysis Services
7 1 (0.18%) SQL Server Reporting Services
Development Applications
1 13 (2.39%) GitLab
1 13 (2.39%) JIRA
2 12 (2.21%) Git
3 11 (2.02%) Jenkins
3 11 (2.02%) Visual Studio
4 8 (1.47%) Sonatype Nexus
5 6 (1.10%) Robot Framework
6 4 (0.74%) Bitbucket
7 3 (0.55%) Octopus Deploy
8 2 (0.37%) Artifactory
8 2 (0.37%) Bitbucket Server
8 2 (0.37%) CA Release Automation
8 2 (0.37%) Fiddler
9 1 (0.18%) eggPlant
9 1 (0.18%) GoCD
9 1 (0.18%) Maven
9 1 (0.18%) REST Assured
9 1 (0.18%) SonarQube
9 1 (0.18%) TeamCity
General
1 136 (25.00%) Social Skills
2 58 (10.66%) Finance
3 57 (10.48%) Analytical Skills
4 56 (10.29%) Public Sector
5 34 (6.25%) Documentation Skills
6 25 (4.60%) Legal
7 18 (3.31%) Banking
8 12 (2.21%) Military
9 11 (2.02%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 6 (1.10%) Organisational Skills
10 6 (1.10%) Spanish Language
11 5 (0.92%) Telecoms
12 4 (0.74%) Aerospace
12 4 (0.74%) Front Office
12 4 (0.74%) Local Government
12 4 (0.74%) Retail
13 3 (0.55%) Financial Institution
14 2 (0.37%) Back Office
14 2 (0.37%) Law
14 2 (0.37%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 88 (16.18%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 62 (11.40%) Analyst
3 38 (6.99%) Support Engineer
4 36 (6.62%) Senior
5 34 (6.25%) Architect
5 34 (6.25%) Platform Engineer
6 32 (5.88%) IT Support
7 30 (5.51%) Wintel Engineer
8 28 (5.15%) Developer
8 28 (5.15%) Support Analyst
9 24 (4.41%) Technical Analyst
10 22 (4.04%) 2nd Line Support
10 22 (4.04%) 3rd Line Engineer
10 22 (4.04%) 3rd Line Support
10 22 (4.04%) Network Engineer
11 21 (3.86%) Lead
11 21 (3.86%) Windows Engineer
12 19 (3.49%) Technical Support
13 18 (3.31%) C# Developer
13 18 (3.31%) Server Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 35 (6.43%) OAuth
2 32 (5.88%) SAML
3 27 (4.96%) .NET
4 23 (4.23%) LDAP
5 19 (3.49%) OpenID
6 18 (3.31%) .NET Framework
7 17 (3.13%) OAuth2
7 17 (3.13%) REST
8 9 (1.65%) React
9 8 (1.47%) Middleware
9 8 (1.47%) XMPP
10 6 (1.10%) AngularJS
11 4 (0.74%) ASP.NET Web API
11 4 (0.74%) Keycloak
11 4 (0.74%) WCF
11 4 (0.74%) Web Services
12 3 (0.55%) Bootstrap
12 3 (0.55%) SOAP
12 3 (0.55%) WinForms
12 3 (0.55%) WPF
Miscellaneous
1 44 (8.09%) PKI
2 42 (7.72%) Data Centre
3 39 (7.17%) Replication
4 23 (4.23%) Clustering
5 22 (4.04%) Onboarding
5 22 (4.04%) Product Ownership
6 19 (3.49%) NHS
7 16 (2.94%) Hybrid Cloud
8 15 (2.76%) Enterprise Software
8 15 (2.76%) Legacy Systems
8 15 (2.76%) Private Cloud
9 13 (2.39%) Driving Licence
9 13 (2.39%) Management Information System
10 11 (2.02%) Self-Motivation
11 8 (1.47%) Analytical Mindset
11 8 (1.47%) Enterprise Storage
12 7 (1.29%) CMDB
12 7 (1.29%) Linux Command Line
13 6 (1.10%) iPhone
14 5 (0.92%) Client/Server
Operating Systems
1 542 (99.63%) Windows
2 136 (25.00%) Linux
3 39 (7.17%) Windows Server 2019
4 36 (6.62%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
5 35 (6.43%) Windows Server 2016
6 34 (6.25%) Windows 10
7 31 (5.70%) Windows Server 2012
8 20 (3.68%) Unix
9 12 (2.21%) Windows Server 2003
10 10 (1.84%) AIX
11 9 (1.65%) Android
11 9 (1.65%) Ubuntu
11 9 (1.65%) Windows Server 2008
12 8 (1.47%) CentOS
13 6 (1.10%) Solaris
13 6 (1.10%) VMS
14 3 (0.55%) Apple iOS
15 2 (0.37%) Mac OS
15 2 (0.37%) Windows 7
15 2 (0.37%) zOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 128 (23.53%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 85 (15.63%) Problem-Solving
3 79 (14.52%) Disaster Recovery
4 76 (13.97%) ITIL
5 73 (13.42%) High Availability
6 65 (11.95%) Agile
7 60 (11.03%) Migration
8 52 (9.56%) Service Management
9 50 (9.19%) Change Management
10 46 (8.46%) Continuous Improvement
10 46 (8.46%) Identity Access Management
10 46 (8.46%) ITSM
11 45 (8.27%) Project Delivery
12 43 (7.90%) Cybersecurity
13 39 (7.17%) RBAC
14 38 (6.99%) DevOps
15 36 (6.62%) Change Control
16 34 (6.25%) Platform Engineering
17 32 (5.88%) CI/CD
18 29 (5.33%) Load Balancing
Programming Languages
1 209 (38.42%) PowerShell
2 71 (13.05%) SQL
3 52 (9.56%) Python
4 34 (6.25%) Bash
5 32 (5.88%) C#
6 22 (4.04%) PL/SQL
6 22 (4.04%) T-SQL
7 11 (2.02%) JavaScript
7 11 (2.02%) Perl
8 10 (1.84%) Java
9 5 (0.92%) Bicep
10 3 (0.55%) Shell Script
11 2 (0.37%) Delphi
11 2 (0.37%) Groovy
11 2 (0.37%) JCL
11 2 (0.37%) PHP
11 2 (0.37%) REXX
11 2 (0.37%) TypeScript
12 1 (0.18%) VBA
Qualifications
1 214 (39.34%) Security Cleared
2 138 (25.37%) SC Cleared
3 75 (13.79%) DV Cleared
4 64 (11.76%) Degree
4 64 (11.76%) Microsoft Certification
5 23 (4.23%) MCSE
6 18 (3.31%) Azure Certification
7 17 (3.13%) Cisco Certification
8 16 (2.94%) CCNP
9 15 (2.76%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
10 14 (2.57%) CCNA
10 14 (2.57%) MCSA
11 10 (1.84%) CCDP
12 9 (1.65%) AWS Certification
12 9 (1.65%) VCAP
13 8 (1.47%) CISSP
14 7 (1.29%) AWS Certified Solutions Architect
15 6 (1.10%) BPSS Clearance
15 6 (1.10%) CompTIA Security+
15 6 (1.10%) ECDL
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 25 (4.60%) QA
2 23 (4.23%) GDPR
3 18 (3.31%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 15 (2.76%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 11 (2.02%) NIST
6 10 (1.84%) Cyber Essentials
7 4 (0.74%) NIST 800
7 4 (0.74%) SLA
8 2 (0.37%) ISO/IEC 42001
8 2 (0.37%) NCSC
9 1 (0.18%) Basel III
9 1 (0.18%) DICOM
9 1 (0.18%) GAAP
9 1 (0.18%) HL7
9 1 (0.18%) IFRS
9 1 (0.18%) IFRS 17
9 1 (0.18%) IFRS 9
9 1 (0.18%) JSP 440
System Software
1 343 (63.05%) Active Directory
2 160 (29.41%) VMware Infrastructure
3 63 (11.58%) Hyper-V
4 45 (8.27%) vSphere
5 34 (6.25%) Docker
6 33 (6.07%) VMware ESXi
7 32 (5.88%) Virtual Machines
8 23 (4.23%) VMware NSX
9 10 (1.84%) Virtual Desktop
10 7 (1.29%) KVM
11 6 (1.10%) Terminal Services
12 5 (0.92%) BitLocker
12 5 (0.92%) Microsoft App-V
12 5 (0.92%) Virtual Servers
13 3 (0.55%) Microsoft Virtual Server
14 2 (0.37%) Firmware
14 2 (0.37%) Oracle RAC
14 2 (0.37%) Sendmail
14 2 (0.37%) Tivoli Directory Server
14 2 (0.37%) VMware Workstation
Systems Management
1 81 (14.89%) Microsoft Intune
2 67 (12.32%) SCCM
3 56 (10.29%) Ansible
4 53 (9.74%) Active Directory Federation Services
5 49 (9.01%) Single Sign-On
6 42 (7.72%) vCenter Server
7 39 (7.17%) Terraform
8 29 (5.33%) Kubernetes
9 22 (4.04%) SCOM
10 12 (2.21%) WSUS
11 9 (1.65%) Puppet
12 7 (1.29%) SCOrch
13 6 (1.10%) CASB
13 6 (1.10%) IBM BigFix
13 6 (1.10%) VxRail
14 5 (0.92%) FortiGate
14 5 (0.92%) Progress Chef
14 5 (0.92%) vMotion
15 4 (0.74%) Nessus
16 3 (0.55%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 256 (47.06%) Microsoft
2 210 (38.60%) VMware
3 64 (11.76%) Citrix
4 60 (11.03%) Cisco
5 43 (7.90%) Oracle
6 30 (5.51%) Red Hat
7 27 (4.96%) ServiceNow
8 25 (4.60%) Dell
9 24 (4.41%) SolarWinds
10 23 (4.23%) Veeam
11 15 (2.76%) Okta
12 13 (2.39%) IBM
12 13 (2.39%) Palo Alto
13 10 (1.84%) BeyondTrust
13 10 (1.84%) CyberArk
13 10 (1.84%) Juniper
14 9 (1.65%) F5
14 9 (1.65%) NetApp
14 9 (1.65%) Splunk
15 7 (1.29%) HP
364 Windows Server jobs in England