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

 6 months to
10 Jun 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 180 126 94
Rank change year-on-year -54 -32 -11
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 611 535 886
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.45% 2.19% 2.36%
As % of the Operating Systems category 15.04% 15.43% 17.17%
Number of daily rates quoted 419 383 658
10th Percentile £263 £342 £212
25th Percentile £409 £425 £325
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £538 £482
Median % change year-on-year -10.78% +11.62% -3.60%
75th Percentile £581 £600 £594
90th Percentile £662 £688 £679
UK median daily rate £475 £525 £465
% change year-on-year -9.52% +12.90% -7.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 42 4 17
10th Percentile £19.25 £14.15 £14.60
25th Percentile £20.91 £14.91 £16.00
Median hourly rate £26.22 £17.04 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year +53.87% -55.74% +14.07%
75th Percentile £65.96 £32.97 £61.60
90th Percentile £74.00 £57.44 £65.46
UK median hourly rate £24.00 £17.63 £38.50
% change year-on-year +36.17% -54.22% +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 4,063 3,467 5,159
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.62% 14.17% 13.77%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,642 2,356 3,470
10th Percentile £188 £200 £188
25th Percentile £313 £313 £304
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £455 £465 £475
Median % change year-on-year -2.15% -2.11% -5.00%
75th Percentile £569 £588 £588
90th Percentile £650 £689 £700
UK median daily rate £460 £465 £470
% change year-on-year -1.08% -1.12% -5.95%
Number of hourly rates quoted 282 170 374
10th Percentile £15.77 £15.12 £12.75
25th Percentile £19.25 £17.03 £15.50
Median hourly rate £32.50 £18.94 £22.50
Median % change year-on-year +71.64% -15.84% -48.78%
75th Percentile £65.00 £47.67 £63.75
90th Percentile £70.55 £68.00 £70.00
UK median hourly rate £31.75 £21.95 £22.52
% change year-on-year +44.65% -2.53% -50.02%

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 10 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 10 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 10 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 -59 182 £489 -6.90% 61
South East -31 147 £525 -2.14% 100
North of England -86 87 £458 -8.40% 66
Midlands -22 72 £450 - 39
East of England -9 63 £450 -18.18% 28
South West -37 59 £515 -10.43% 51
North West -43 57 £448 +1.53% 43
West Midlands -30 45 £438 +9.38% 23
Yorkshire -60 28 £625 +16.28% 17
East Midlands -10 25 £450 -10.00% 16
North East -27 2 £330 -34.00% 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 72 (11.78%) Microsoft Exchange
2 30 (4.91%) IIS
3 28 (4.58%) 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 (0.65%) 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
1 236 (38.63%) Azure
2 107 (17.51%) Microsoft 365
3 100 (16.37%) Entra ID
4 70 (11.46%) AWS
5 26 (4.26%) IaaS
6 20 (3.27%) Azure Monitor
7 17 (2.78%) Power Platform
8 16 (2.62%) GCP
9 15 (2.45%) PaaS
10 13 (2.13%) Nutanix
11 12 (1.96%) GitHub
12 8 (1.31%) Azure DevOps
12 8 (1.31%) SaaS
13 7 (1.15%) Amazon EC2
13 7 (1.15%) Azure Sentinel
13 7 (1.15%) GitHub Actions
14 6 (0.98%) Cohesity
15 5 (0.82%) Azure Logic Apps
15 5 (0.82%) Azure Stack
15 5 (0.82%) Microsoft Copilot
Communications & Networking
1 203 (33.22%) DNS
2 143 (23.40%) DHCP
3 98 (16.04%) Firewall
4 51 (8.35%) VPN
5 45 (7.36%) WAN
6 40 (6.55%) TCP/IP
7 37 (6.06%) LAN
8 24 (3.93%) Network Security
9 23 (3.76%) SAN
10 17 (2.78%) VLAN
11 15 (2.45%) SMTP
11 15 (2.45%) SSL
12 14 (2.29%) FTP
12 14 (2.29%) Kerberos
13 12 (1.96%) VoIP
14 11 (1.80%) Wi-Fi
15 10 (1.64%) NAS
15 10 (1.64%) NetScaler
15 10 (1.64%) SSH
16 8 (1.31%) Skype
Database & Business Intelligence
1 121 (19.80%) SQL Server
2 17 (2.78%) Power BI
3 13 (2.13%) Elasticsearch
4 10 (1.64%) Oracle Database
4 10 (1.64%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (1.47%) Amazon RDS
5 9 (1.47%) NoSQL
6 7 (1.15%) SQL Server Integration Services
7 6 (0.98%) Db2
8 5 (0.82%) Relational Database
9 4 (0.65%) Big Data
9 4 (0.65%) GIS
9 4 (0.65%) 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%) SQL Server Analysis Services
12 1 (0.16%) Data Warehouse
12 1 (0.16%) Oracle Database 11g
Development Applications
1 11 (1.80%) JIRA
2 9 (1.47%) Visual Studio
3 6 (0.98%) Jenkins
4 5 (0.82%) Git
4 5 (0.82%) Robot Framework
5 4 (0.65%) GitLab
5 4 (0.65%) 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 (19.64%) Social Skills
2 62 (10.15%) Finance
3 61 (9.98%) Public Sector
4 49 (8.02%) Analytical Skills
5 24 (3.93%) Banking
5 24 (3.93%) Documentation Skills
6 17 (2.78%) Legal
7 15 (2.45%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 12 (1.96%) Military
9 11 (1.80%) Law
10 8 (1.31%) Local Government
10 8 (1.31%) Organisational Skills
11 5 (0.82%) Marketing
11 5 (0.82%) Retail
12 4 (0.65%) Manufacturing
12 4 (0.65%) Police
13 3 (0.49%) Front Office
13 3 (0.49%) Telecoms
14 2 (0.33%) Aerospace
14 2 (0.33%) Pharmaceutical
Job Titles
1 153 (25.04%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 45 (7.36%) Support Engineer
3 44 (7.20%) Senior
4 37 (6.06%) Analyst
5 36 (5.89%) Cloud Engineer
6 32 (5.24%) 3rd Line Engineer
6 32 (5.24%) Architect
7 30 (4.91%) Lead
7 30 (4.91%) Wintel Engineer
8 29 (4.75%) IT Support
9 25 (4.09%) Administrator
10 22 (3.60%) IT Engineer
11 20 (3.27%) Infrastructure Support
11 20 (3.27%) Windows Engineer
12 19 (3.11%) Developer
13 18 (2.95%) 3rd Line Support
14 17 (2.78%) Azure Engineer
14 17 (2.78%) Systems Administrator
15 16 (2.62%) IT Infrastructure Engineer
15 16 (2.62%) Server Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 29 (4.75%) .NET
2 25 (4.09%) .NET Framework
3 18 (2.95%) LDAP
4 17 (2.78%) OAuth
4 17 (2.78%) REST
5 16 (2.62%) SAML
6 6 (0.98%) Elastic Stack
6 6 (0.98%) RabbitMQ
7 5 (0.82%) Keycloak
7 5 (0.82%) React
7 5 (0.82%) Software Packaging
8 4 (0.65%) ADO
8 4 (0.65%) AngularJS
8 4 (0.65%) Azure Blueprints
8 4 (0.65%) EJB
8 4 (0.65%) JSON
8 4 (0.65%) Middleware
8 4 (0.65%) OAuth2
8 4 (0.65%) OpenID
8 4 (0.65%) Vue
Miscellaneous
1 58 (9.49%) PKI
2 42 (6.87%) Clustering
3 38 (6.22%) Replication
4 34 (5.56%) Onboarding
5 32 (5.24%) Data Centre
6 30 (4.91%) Hybrid Cloud
7 20 (3.27%) Legacy Systems
7 20 (3.27%) Management Information System
8 14 (2.29%) Self-Motivation
9 13 (2.13%) Linux Command Line
10 12 (1.96%) Enterprise Software
10 12 (1.96%) Enterprise Storage
11 10 (1.64%) Virtual Team
12 9 (1.47%) Product Ownership
13 8 (1.31%) Cloud Native
13 8 (1.31%) Driving Licence
13 8 (1.31%) NHS
13 8 (1.31%) Private Cloud
13 8 (1.31%) Public Cloud
13 8 (1.31%) Security Posture
Operating Systems
1 611 (100.00%) Windows
2 165 (27.00%) Linux
3 59 (9.66%) Windows Server 2019
4 45 (7.36%) Windows Server 2016
5 41 (6.71%) Windows 10
6 40 (6.55%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
7 32 (5.24%) Windows Server 2012
8 30 (4.91%) Unix
9 21 (3.44%) Ubuntu
10 10 (1.64%) Windows Server 2003
11 9 (1.47%) AIX
11 9 (1.47%) VMS
11 9 (1.47%) Windows Server 2008
12 8 (1.31%) CentOS
12 8 (1.31%) Solaris
13 4 (0.65%) Alpine Linux
13 4 (0.65%) Mac OS
14 3 (0.49%) Android
14 3 (0.49%) Windows 7
15 2 (0.33%) Apple iOS
Processes & Methodologies
1 182 (29.79%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 102 (16.69%) Disaster Recovery
3 101 (16.53%) High Availability
4 98 (16.04%) Problem-Solving
5 84 (13.75%) ITIL
6 68 (11.13%) Migration
7 59 (9.66%) Change Management
8 58 (9.49%) ITSM
9 49 (8.02%) Agile
9 49 (8.02%) DevOps
9 49 (8.02%) Project Delivery
10 45 (7.36%) Infrastructure as Code
11 43 (7.04%) Root Cause Analysis
12 40 (6.55%) Technical Leadership
13 39 (6.38%) Runbook
14 38 (6.22%) Service Management
15 37 (6.06%) Cybersecurity
15 37 (6.06%) Vulnerability Remediation
16 34 (5.56%) Continuous Improvement
16 34 (5.56%) Identity Access Management
Programming Languages
1 228 (37.32%) PowerShell
2 86 (14.08%) SQL
3 63 (10.31%) Python
4 32 (5.24%) Bash
5 29 (4.75%) C#
6 24 (3.93%) PL/SQL
7 19 (3.11%) JavaScript
8 18 (2.95%) T-SQL
9 14 (2.29%) 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
1 246 (40.26%) Security Cleared
2 146 (23.90%) SC Cleared
3 99 (16.20%) DV Cleared
4 68 (11.13%) Degree
5 50 (8.18%) Microsoft Certification
6 28 (4.58%) MCSE
6 28 (4.58%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
7 20 (3.27%) MCSA
8 18 (2.95%) VCAP
9 14 (2.29%) Cisco Certification
10 11 (1.80%) BPSS Clearance
10 11 (1.80%) CISSP
11 9 (1.47%) Azure Certification
11 9 (1.47%) CCNA
11 9 (1.47%) CISM
12 7 (1.15%) CCNP
13 5 (0.82%) AWS Certification
13 5 (0.82%) ITIL Certification
14 4 (0.65%) CompTIA Security+
14 4 (0.65%) MCTS
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 36 (5.89%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 27 (4.42%) QA
3 24 (3.93%) NIST
4 21 (3.44%) GDPR
5 14 (2.29%) Sarbanes-Oxley
5 14 (2.29%) SLA
6 12 (1.96%) Cyber Essentials
7 4 (0.65%) 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 17
10 1 (0.16%) IFRS 9
10 1 (0.16%) ISO 9001
System Software
1 353 (57.77%) Active Directory
2 219 (35.84%) VMware Infrastructure
3 101 (16.53%) Hyper-V
4 76 (12.44%) VMware ESXi
4 76 (12.44%) vSphere
5 54 (8.84%) Virtual Machines
6 37 (6.06%) Docker
7 34 (5.56%) VMware NSX
8 13 (2.13%) Virtual Desktop
9 11 (1.80%) KVM
9 11 (1.80%) Microsoft App-V
10 10 (1.64%) BitLocker
10 10 (1.64%) vCloud
11 6 (0.98%) Virtual Servers
11 6 (0.98%) VMware Workstation
11 6 (0.98%) XenApp
12 5 (0.82%) Terminal Services
12 5 (0.82%) XenDesktop
13 4 (0.65%) Oracle RAC
14 3 (0.49%) Firmware
Systems Management
1 81 (13.26%) Ansible
2 70 (11.46%) vCenter Server
3 67 (10.97%) Microsoft Intune
4 59 (9.66%) SCCM
5 49 (8.02%) Terraform
6 41 (6.71%) Kubernetes
7 36 (5.89%) SCOM
8 32 (5.24%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 27 (4.42%) Single Sign-On
10 24 (3.93%) WSUS
11 14 (2.29%) vMotion
12 11 (1.80%) Puppet
13 10 (1.64%) Nessus
14 8 (1.31%) Avamar
15 6 (0.98%) Grafana
15 6 (0.98%) IBM BigFix
15 6 (0.98%) Oracle RMAN
15 6 (0.98%) Prometheus
15 6 (0.98%) VxRail
16 4 (0.65%) Backup Exec
Vendors
1 270 (44.19%) Microsoft
2 265 (43.37%) VMware
3 65 (10.64%) Cisco
4 62 (10.15%) Citrix
5 53 (8.67%) Oracle
6 42 (6.87%) ServiceNow
7 27 (4.42%) Dell
8 24 (3.93%) Red Hat
9 19 (3.11%) Okta
10 18 (2.95%) BeyondTrust
10 18 (2.95%) Tenable
11 16 (2.62%) IBM
11 16 (2.62%) Veeam
12 14 (2.29%) Remedy
13 13 (2.13%) BMC
13 13 (2.13%) CyberArk
13 13 (2.13%) HP
13 13 (2.13%) NetApp
13 13 (2.13%) Qualys
13 13 (2.13%) Thales
319 Windows Server jobs in England