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 5 October 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

 6 months to
5 Oct 2026		 Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 158 181 115
Rank change year-on-year +23 -66 -41
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 812 424 684
As % of all contract jobs in England 1.76% 1.52% 2.11%
As % of the Operating Systems category 17.98% 10.98% 14.82%
Number of daily rates quoted 523 318 469
10th Percentile £261 £250 £250
25th Percentile £375 £400 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £480 £508 £475
Median % change year-on-year -5.42% +6.84% -1.04%
75th Percentile £588 £575 £575
90th Percentile £675 £650 £638
UK median daily rate £488 £508 £470
% change year-on-year -3.94% +7.98% -1.05%
Number of hourly rates quoted 64 12 8
10th Percentile £16.25 £12.97 £42.17
25th Percentile £26.00 £13.48 £48.75
Median hourly rate £63.31 £16.00 £62.19
Median % change year-on-year +295.67% -74.27% +28.49%
75th Percentile £72.25 £30.69 £103.00
90th Percentile £74.00 £41.02 £112.00
UK median hourly rate £63.14 £16.75 £52.50
% change year-on-year +276.93% -68.10% +8.47%

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 4,516 3,862 4,614
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in England 9.79% 13.83% 14.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,881 2,529 2,859
10th Percentile £193 £185 £200
25th Percentile £313 £276 £326
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £470 £450 £475
Median % change year-on-year +4.44% -5.26% -5.00%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £584
90th Percentile £675 £675 £688
UK median daily rate £470 £450 £475
% change year-on-year +4.44% -5.26% -5.00%
Number of hourly rates quoted 348 275 217
10th Percentile £16.25 £15.50 £16.25
25th Percentile £19.33 £18.87 £22.25
Median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £60.00
Median % change year-on-year +29.22% -58.08% +28.51%
75th Percentile £67.47 £59.00 £70.00
90th Percentile £75.00 £67.00 -
UK median hourly rate £25.77 £25.15 £52.50
% change year-on-year +2.47% -52.10% +20.00%

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 5 October 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 5 October 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 5 October 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 +10 252 £475 -5.00% 251
South East -2 193 £515 -1.90% 176
North of England +11 137 £450 +9.09% 136
East of England +4 84 £500 -9.09% 78
Midlands +3 79 £438 -16.67% 98
North West -5 75 £425 - 78
South West -35 56 £575 +9.52% 60
West Midlands -27 47 £425 -19.05% 57
Yorkshire -4 43 £525 +40.00% 41
East Midlands +15 32 £450 -10.00% 40
North East -21 20 £350 -30.00% 18
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 88 (10.84%) Microsoft Exchange
2 58 (7.14%) SharePoint
3 24 (2.96%) IIS
4 7 (0.86%) Confluence
4 7 (0.86%) nginx
5 6 (0.74%) Apache
5 6 (0.74%) Tomcat
6 4 (0.49%) FactoryTalk
7 3 (0.37%) CloudStack
7 3 (0.37%) Exchange Server 2013
8 2 (0.25%) SAS
8 2 (0.25%) Skype for Business
9 1 (0.12%) Apache Airflow
9 1 (0.12%) Exchange Server 2010
9 1 (0.12%) OpenStack
9 1 (0.12%) Oracle Workflow
9 1 (0.12%) SharePoint 2010
9 1 (0.12%) SharePoint Server
9 1 (0.12%) WebLogic
Applications
1 14 (1.72%) Microsoft Office
2 4 (0.49%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 3 (0.37%) Microsoft Excel
4 2 (0.25%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 12 (1.48%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.25%) OpenText MBPM
2 2 (0.25%) Oracle BPM
Cloud Services
1 344 (42.36%) Azure
2 176 (21.67%) Entra ID
2 176 (21.67%) Microsoft 365
3 101 (12.44%) AWS
4 45 (5.54%) Azure Monitor
5 35 (4.31%) GCP
6 33 (4.06%) Azure DevOps
7 25 (3.08%) IaaS
8 22 (2.71%) Power Platform
9 20 (2.46%) OpenShift
10 19 (2.34%) Azure Sentinel
10 19 (2.34%) GitHub
11 12 (1.48%) OneDrive
12 11 (1.35%) PaaS
13 9 (1.11%) Amazon CloudWatch
13 9 (1.11%) Amazon EC2
13 9 (1.11%) Nutanix
13 9 (1.11%) SaaS
14 8 (0.99%) Datadog
14 8 (0.99%) GitHub Actions
Communications & Networking
1 251 (30.91%) DNS
2 166 (20.44%) DHCP
3 139 (17.12%) Firewall
4 76 (9.36%) TCP/IP
5 67 (8.25%) VPN
6 56 (6.90%) SAN
7 46 (5.67%) LAN
7 46 (5.67%) WAN
8 44 (5.42%) Network Security
9 42 (5.17%) VLAN
10 32 (3.94%) SSL
11 22 (2.71%) NetScaler
12 21 (2.59%) Wireless
13 20 (2.46%) Wi-Fi
14 19 (2.34%) NAS
15 15 (1.85%) SSH
16 13 (1.60%) VoIP
17 12 (1.48%) BGP
17 12 (1.48%) HTTP
18 10 (1.23%) OSPF
Database & Business Intelligence
1 150 (18.47%) SQL Server
2 22 (2.71%) Power BI
3 16 (1.97%) SQL Server Integration Services
4 13 (1.60%) MySQL
5 12 (1.48%) Amazon RDS
6 11 (1.35%) Oracle Database
6 11 (1.35%) PostgreSQL
7 6 (0.74%) Elasticsearch
7 6 (0.74%) NoSQL
7 6 (0.74%) Relational Database
8 5 (0.62%) Azure SQL Database
9 3 (0.37%) Big Data
9 3 (0.37%) GIS
9 3 (0.37%) Metadata
9 3 (0.37%) Oracle BI EE
9 3 (0.37%) SQL Server Reporting Services
10 2 (0.25%) MongoDB
10 2 (0.25%) SQL Server Analysis Services
11 1 (0.12%) Microsoft Analysis Services
11 1 (0.12%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 16 (1.97%) Jenkins
2 15 (1.85%) Git
2 15 (1.85%) JIRA
3 10 (1.23%) GitLab
4 5 (0.62%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
4 5 (0.62%) Visual Studio
5 3 (0.37%) Artifactory
5 3 (0.37%) MSI
5 3 (0.37%) Octopus Deploy
6 2 (0.25%) AdminStudio
6 2 (0.25%) Bitbucket
6 2 (0.25%) InstallShield
6 2 (0.25%) Robot Framework
6 2 (0.25%) Sonatype Nexus
7 1 (0.12%) Locust
7 1 (0.12%) MSBuild
7 1 (0.12%) Newman
7 1 (0.12%) Postman
7 1 (0.12%) SonarQube
7 1 (0.12%) TestCafe
General
1 204 (25.12%) Social Skills
2 103 (12.68%) Analytical Skills
3 86 (10.59%) Finance
4 48 (5.91%) Documentation Skills
5 44 (5.42%) Banking
6 37 (4.56%) Public Sector
7 20 (2.46%) Law
8 14 (1.72%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 13 (1.60%) Aerospace
9 13 (1.60%) Legal
9 13 (1.60%) Military
10 12 (1.48%) Telecoms
11 9 (1.11%) Manufacturing
12 8 (0.99%) Pharmaceutical
13 6 (0.74%) Games
14 5 (0.62%) Financial Institution
14 5 (0.62%) Local Government
14 5 (0.62%) Organisational Skills
14 5 (0.62%) Police
15 4 (0.49%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 197 (24.26%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 96 (11.82%) Senior
3 77 (9.48%) Support Engineer
4 59 (7.27%) Cloud Engineer
5 47 (5.79%) 3rd Line Engineer
5 47 (5.79%) Lead
6 44 (5.42%) Windows Engineer
7 43 (5.30%) IT Engineer
8 42 (5.17%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
9 40 (4.93%) Architect
10 34 (4.19%) IT Support
11 32 (3.94%) Administrator
12 28 (3.45%) Azure Engineer
12 28 (3.45%) Server Engineer
13 27 (3.33%) Storage Engineer
13 27 (3.33%) Systems Engineer
13 27 (3.33%) Wintel Engineer
14 26 (3.20%) VMware Engineer
15 25 (3.08%) IT Support Engineer
16 24 (2.96%) Platform Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 90 (11.08%) Terraform
2 32 (3.94%) .NET
3 25 (3.08%) REST
4 17 (2.09%) ARM Templates
5 14 (1.72%) .NET Framework
5 14 (1.72%) LDAP
6 10 (1.23%) JSON
7 8 (0.99%) Elastic Stack
7 8 (0.99%) OAuth
8 7 (0.86%) RabbitMQ
8 7 (0.86%) YAML
9 6 (0.74%) Middleware
9 6 (0.74%) SailPoint
10 5 (0.62%) SAML
10 5 (0.62%) Software Packaging
11 4 (0.49%) 802.1X
11 4 (0.49%) OAuth2
11 4 (0.49%) OpenID
11 4 (0.49%) React
11 4 (0.49%) XML
Miscellaneous
1 74 (9.11%) PKI
2 67 (8.25%) Data Centre
3 62 (7.64%) Hybrid Cloud
4 56 (6.90%) Onboarding
5 54 (6.65%) Clustering
6 46 (5.67%) Management Information System
7 43 (5.30%) Replication
8 26 (3.20%) Security Posture
9 18 (2.22%) Driving Licence
9 18 (2.22%) Enterprise Storage
10 15 (1.85%) Self-Motivation
11 14 (1.72%) Smartcard
12 13 (1.60%) Cloud Native
13 12 (1.48%) Public Cloud
13 12 (1.48%) Virtual Team
14 11 (1.35%) Enterprise Software
14 11 (1.35%) Linux Command Line
15 9 (1.11%) Operational Technology
16 8 (0.99%) ARM Cortex
16 8 (0.99%) CMDB
Operating Systems
1 812 (100.00%) Windows
2 229 (28.20%) Linux
3 72 (8.87%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
4 55 (6.77%) Windows 10
5 51 (6.28%) Windows Server 2019
6 32 (3.94%) Windows Server 2016
7 30 (3.69%) Unix
8 29 (3.57%) CentOS
8 29 (3.57%) Ubuntu
8 29 (3.57%) Windows Server 2012
9 14 (1.72%) Mac OS
9 14 (1.72%) Rocky
10 10 (1.23%) Windows Server 2008
11 8 (0.99%) VMS
11 8 (0.99%) Windows 7
12 5 (0.62%) Windows Server 2003
13 4 (0.49%) Alpine Linux
13 4 (0.49%) Solaris
14 3 (0.37%) Android
14 3 (0.37%) OpenVMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 252 (31.03%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 201 (24.75%) Problem-Solving
3 172 (21.18%) ITIL
4 139 (17.12%) Disaster Recovery
5 118 (14.53%) Migration
6 116 (14.29%) Root Cause Analysis
7 100 (12.32%) Continuous Improvement
8 98 (12.07%) Infrastructure as Code
9 96 (11.82%) Change Management
10 85 (10.47%) DevOps
11 84 (10.34%) ITSM
12 80 (9.85%) Service Management
13 78 (9.61%) High Availability
14 77 (9.48%) Stakeholder Management
15 76 (9.36%) Technical Leadership
16 70 (8.62%) Vulnerability Remediation
17 69 (8.50%) Project Delivery
18 64 (7.88%) Validation
19 61 (7.51%) Cybersecurity
20 60 (7.39%) CI/CD
Programming Languages
1 314 (38.67%) PowerShell
2 111 (13.67%) SQL
3 83 (10.22%) Python
4 67 (8.25%) Bash
5 39 (4.80%) T-SQL
6 29 (3.57%) Bicep
6 29 (3.57%) C#
7 16 (1.97%) PL/SQL
8 12 (1.48%) Java
9 9 (1.11%) JavaScript
10 5 (0.62%) Go
11 3 (0.37%) Korn
11 3 (0.37%) Shell Script
12 2 (0.25%) Groovy
12 2 (0.25%) JCL
12 2 (0.25%) REXX
12 2 (0.25%) TypeScript
13 1 (0.12%) Ladder Logic
13 1 (0.12%) VB
13 1 (0.12%) VBScript
Qualifications
1 346 (42.61%) Security Cleared
2 178 (21.92%) DV Cleared
2 178 (21.92%) SC Cleared
3 81 (9.98%) Degree
4 50 (6.16%) Microsoft Certification
5 41 (5.05%) Azure Certification
6 25 (3.08%) Cisco Certification
7 24 (2.96%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
8 21 (2.59%) ITIL Foundation Certificate
9 18 (2.22%) MCSE
10 14 (1.72%) BPSS Clearance
10 14 (1.72%) CISSP
10 14 (1.72%) MCSA
11 13 (1.60%) CCNA
11 13 (1.60%) CCNP
12 12 (1.48%) AWS Certification
12 12 (1.48%) CISM
13 9 (1.11%) Computer Science Degree
13 9 (1.11%) ITIL Certification
14 8 (0.99%) VCAP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 47 (5.79%) SLA
2 32 (3.94%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 26 (3.20%) NIST
4 21 (2.59%) QA
5 15 (1.85%) Cyber Essentials
6 8 (0.99%) NCSC
6 8 (0.99%) PCI DSS
7 7 (0.86%) GRC
8 6 (0.74%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 6 (0.74%) GxP
8 6 (0.74%) ISO 9001
9 5 (0.62%) 21 CFR Part 11
9 5 (0.62%) GDPR
9 5 (0.62%) ISO 31000
9 5 (0.62%) ISO/IEC 27005
9 5 (0.62%) SOC 2
10 2 (0.25%) Government Security Classifications
10 2 (0.25%) HIPAA
10 2 (0.25%) JSP 440
11 1 (0.12%) GMP
System Software
1 480 (59.11%) Active Directory
2 299 (36.82%) VMware Infrastructure
3 154 (18.97%) Hyper-V
4 116 (14.29%) VMware ESXi
5 103 (12.68%) vSphere
6 56 (6.90%) Virtual Machines
7 41 (5.05%) Docker
8 38 (4.68%) Virtual Desktop
9 34 (4.19%) VMware NSX
10 24 (2.96%) vCloud
11 18 (2.22%) Virtual Servers
12 14 (1.72%) Citrix Hypervisor
13 12 (1.48%) XenApp
14 10 (1.23%) Firmware
14 10 (1.23%) XenDesktop
15 8 (0.99%) Microsoft Virtual Server
16 6 (0.74%) Microsoft App-V
16 6 (0.74%) VMware Server
17 5 (0.62%) ISA Server
17 5 (0.62%) KVM
Systems Management
1 94 (11.58%) Ansible
1 94 (11.58%) Microsoft Intune
2 91 (11.21%) vCenter Server
3 86 (10.59%) SCCM
4 73 (8.99%) SCOM
5 50 (6.16%) Kubernetes
6 30 (3.69%) WSUS
7 18 (2.22%) Grafana
8 17 (2.09%) NetBackup
8 17 (2.09%) Prometheus
9 15 (1.85%) Failover Clustering
10 14 (1.72%) Avamar
10 14 (1.72%) Nagios
11 10 (1.23%) Nessus
11 10 (1.23%) vMotion
12 8 (0.99%) SysTrack
13 7 (0.86%) Active Directory Federation Services
13 7 (0.86%) Jamf Pro
13 7 (0.86%) Microsoft Clustering
13 7 (0.86%) Puppet
Vendors
1 434 (53.45%) Microsoft
2 380 (46.80%) VMware
3 91 (11.21%) Cisco
4 72 (8.87%) Citrix
5 62 (7.64%) Oracle
6 53 (6.53%) ServiceNow
7 36 (4.43%) CyberArk
8 35 (4.31%) Red Hat
9 31 (3.82%) BeyondTrust
9 31 (3.82%) Dell
9 31 (3.82%) Splunk
10 29 (3.57%) Veeam
11 23 (2.83%) Google
11 23 (2.83%) NetApp
12 22 (2.71%) CrowdStrike
13 21 (2.59%) Qualys
13 21 (2.59%) SolarWinds
13 21 (2.59%) Tenable
14 19 (2.34%) Zscaler
15 17 (2.09%) Fortinet
813 Windows Server jobs in England