Microsoft Contracts in the South East

Microsoft
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East requiring knowledge or experience of Microsoft products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Microsoft over the 6 months leading up to 6 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within the Microsoft Corporation.

6 months to
6 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 7 6 6
Rank change year-on-year -1 0 -2
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 443 810 877
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the South East 14.79% 14.67% 15.20%
As % of the Vendors category 28.25% 31.12% 31.01%
Number of daily rates quoted 297 541 591
10th Percentile £218 £190 £194
25th Percentile £350 £334 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £490 £465 £475
Median % change year-on-year +5.38% -2.11% +5.56%
75th Percentile £575 £575 £592
90th Percentile £625 £675 £678
England median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% -
Number of hourly rates quoted 31 72 40
10th Percentile - £11.71 £15.19
25th Percentile £14.20 £11.95 £16.81
Median hourly rate £15.00 £20.25 £20.24
Median % change year-on-year -25.93% +0.07% +22.64%
75th Percentile £24.38 £50.94 £43.56
90th Percentile £32.05 £61.48 £59.33
England median hourly rate £18.86 £15.00 £20.97
% change year-on-year +25.73% -28.45% +13.32%

All Vendors
South East

Microsoft falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services in the South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,568 2,603 2,828
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 52.34% 47.15% 49.01%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,047 1,606 1,935
10th Percentile £250 £213 £205
25th Percentile £406 £378 £363
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £514 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.80% - +2.56%
75th Percentile £613 £600 £610
90th Percentile £675 £688 £700
England median daily rate £525 £520 £535
% change year-on-year +0.96% -2.80% +1.90%
Number of hourly rates quoted 91 183 131
10th Percentile £14.20 £12.00 £16.50
25th Percentile £16.95 £17.06 £20.47
Median hourly rate £24.66 £52.50 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -53.03% +16.67% +130.53%
75th Percentile £59.44 £61.30 £62.75
90th Percentile £71.25 £67.02 £75.00
England median hourly rate £27.13 £22.50 £38.50
% change year-on-year +20.56% -41.56% +83.33%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Job postings citing Microsoft as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Job vacancy trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the South East

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Microsoft in the South East.

Daily rate trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 6 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Microsoft in the South East.

Hourly rate trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 6 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the South East region over the 6 months to 6 May 2025. 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
Thames Valley -4 217 £486 +4.57% 400
Berkshire -6 153 £478 -4.50% 203
Hampshire +2 128 £500 -16.67% 232
Buckinghamshire -2 41 £550 +22.53% 129
Kent +1 31 £263 -30.56% 77
Surrey -10 25 £500 +17.65% 118
Oxfordshire 0 23 £375 - 119
West Sussex -1 22 £385 -14.44% 56
East Sussex +5 15 £538 -10.42% 51
Home Counties +1 1 - -
Sussex - 1 £500 - 37
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the South East by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 52 (11.74%) SharePoint
2 29 (6.55%) Microsoft Exchange
3 27 (6.09%) Confluence
4 7 (1.58%) IIS
5 6 (1.35%) CMS
6 4 (0.90%) Apache
6 4 (0.90%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.90%) BizTalk Server
6 4 (0.90%) Drupal
6 4 (0.90%) WordPress
7 3 (0.68%) Anypoint
7 3 (0.68%) Exchange Server 2003
7 3 (0.68%) Exchange Server 2007
7 3 (0.68%) Exchange Server 2010
7 3 (0.68%) Exchange Server 2013
7 3 (0.68%) Mule
7 3 (0.68%) Mule ESB
7 3 (0.68%) Office Communications Server
7 3 (0.68%) SharePoint Server
7 3 (0.68%) Skype for Business
Applications
1 72 (16.25%) Microsoft Office
2 41 (9.26%) Microsoft Excel
3 15 (3.39%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 12 (2.71%) MS Visio
5 5 (1.13%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.23%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.23%) CATIA
6 1 (0.23%) Chatbot
Business Applications
1 7 (1.58%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (1.13%) SAP S/4HANA
3 4 (0.90%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 3 (0.68%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.45%) SAP ECC
5 2 (0.45%) SAP Oil and Gas
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle ASCP
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.23%) Oracle SCM
6 1 (0.23%) Remedy AR System
6 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.23%) SAP CO
6 1 (0.23%) SAP FI
6 1 (0.23%) SAP FI/CO
6 1 (0.23%) SAP GTS
6 1 (0.23%) SAP SD
Cloud Services
1 153 (34.54%) Azure
2 102 (23.02%) Microsoft 365
3 52 (11.74%) Power Platform
4 37 (8.35%) AWS
5 30 (6.77%) Azure DevOps
6 26 (5.87%) Entra ID
7 24 (5.42%) Dynamics 365
8 22 (4.97%) PaaS
9 21 (4.74%) IaaS
10 20 (4.51%) SaaS
11 14 (3.16%) OpenShift
12 13 (2.93%) Power Automate
12 13 (2.93%) PowerApps
13 11 (2.48%) GCP
14 9 (2.03%) Microsoft Copilot
15 8 (1.81%) Azure AKS
15 8 (1.81%) OneDrive
16 7 (1.58%) GitHub
16 7 (1.58%) Serverless
17 6 (1.35%) Azure Monitor
Communications & Networking
1 54 (12.19%) Firewall
2 49 (11.06%) VPN
3 34 (7.67%) DNS
4 27 (6.09%) SAN
5 26 (5.87%) WAN
6 25 (5.64%) DHCP
7 21 (4.74%) LAN
7 21 (4.74%) MPLS
8 19 (4.29%) Internet
9 17 (3.84%) Ethernet
10 16 (3.61%) ATM
10 16 (3.61%) Frame Relay
10 16 (3.61%) GPRS
10 16 (3.61%) GSM
10 16 (3.61%) LTE
10 16 (3.61%) SDH
10 16 (3.61%) UMTS
10 16 (3.61%) Wireshark
11 14 (3.16%) Network Security
12 13 (2.93%) SMTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 31 (7.00%) Power BI
2 28 (6.32%) SQL Server
3 22 (4.97%) Big Data
4 14 (3.16%) Data Warehouse
5 11 (2.48%) Elasticsearch
5 11 (2.48%) Relational Database
6 10 (2.26%) Amazon RDS
7 9 (2.03%) Azure SQL Database
7 9 (2.03%) Metadata
8 6 (1.35%) Power Query
9 5 (1.13%) Data Lake
9 5 (1.13%) MySQL
10 4 (0.90%) Apache Cassandra
11 3 (0.68%) MS Access
11 3 (0.68%) NoSQL
11 3 (0.68%) PostgreSQL
11 3 (0.68%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.45%) GIS
12 2 (0.45%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 2 (0.45%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 28 (6.32%) JIRA
2 19 (4.29%) Visual Studio
3 14 (3.16%) Git
4 8 (1.81%) ERwin
4 8 (1.81%) PowerDesigner
5 5 (1.13%) Jenkins
6 4 (0.90%) Bitbucket Server
7 3 (0.68%) MSI
7 3 (0.68%) Postman
8 2 (0.45%) Burp Suite
8 2 (0.45%) Cypress.io
8 2 (0.45%) Metasploit
8 2 (0.45%) Moq
8 2 (0.45%) QARun
8 2 (0.45%) Team Foundation Server
8 2 (0.45%) Terragrunt
8 2 (0.45%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.45%) Vite
8 2 (0.45%) WinRunner
9 1 (0.23%) Subversion
General
1 177 (39.95%) Social Skills
2 71 (16.03%) Finance
3 51 (11.51%) Analytical Skills
4 47 (10.61%) Telecoms
5 39 (8.80%) Public Sector
6 20 (4.51%) Manufacturing
7 18 (4.06%) Organisational Skills
8 10 (2.26%) Automotive
8 10 (2.26%) Documentation Skills
8 10 (2.26%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 10 (2.26%) Presentation Skills
9 8 (1.81%) Marketing
10 7 (1.58%) Legal
11 6 (1.35%) Retail
12 5 (1.13%) Billing
13 4 (0.90%) Banking
13 4 (0.90%) Influencing Skills
13 4 (0.90%) Local Government
13 4 (0.90%) Pharmaceutical
14 3 (0.68%) Aviation
Job Titles
1 56 (12.64%) Analyst
2 51 (11.51%) Architect
3 47 (10.61%) Developer
4 38 (8.58%) Support Engineer
5 36 (8.13%) Senior
6 34 (7.67%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 23 (5.19%) Consultant
8 18 (4.06%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 17 (3.84%) Azure Engineer
9 17 (3.84%) Service Analyst
10 16 (3.61%) 2nd Line Support
10 16 (3.61%) Delphi Developer
10 16 (3.61%) Desktop Engineer
10 16 (3.61%) IT Support
11 15 (3.39%) 3rd Line Support
11 15 (3.39%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
11 15 (3.39%) IP Engineer
12 14 (3.16%) Service Desk Analyst
12 14 (3.16%) Test Engineer
13 13 (2.93%) Infrastructure Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 14 (3.16%) .NET
2 13 (2.93%) Web Services
3 10 (2.26%) AngularJS
3 10 (2.26%) CSS
3 10 (2.26%) HTML
3 10 (2.26%) SOAP
4 8 (1.81%) JSON
4 8 (1.81%) SAML
4 8 (1.81%) XML
5 7 (1.58%) .NET Core
5 7 (1.58%) RESTful
6 6 (1.35%) REST
7 5 (1.13%) ARM Templates
7 5 (1.13%) OAuth
7 5 (1.13%) PySpark
8 4 (0.90%) .NET Framework
8 4 (0.90%) ADO
8 4 (0.90%) Ajax
8 4 (0.90%) CodeIgniter
8 4 (0.90%) jQuery
Miscellaneous
1 29 (6.55%) Self-Motivation
2 19 (4.29%) Onboarding
2 19 (4.29%) PKI
3 13 (2.93%) Clustering
4 12 (2.71%) Hybrid Cloud
4 12 (2.71%) Public Cloud
5 11 (2.48%) Data Centre
5 11 (2.48%) Product Ownership
5 11 (2.48%) Video Conferencing
6 10 (2.26%) Management Information System
7 7 (1.58%) Cloud Native
7 7 (1.58%) Driving Licence
7 7 (1.58%) Replication
8 6 (1.35%) Data Structures
8 6 (1.35%) Low-Code
8 6 (1.35%) Security Posture
9 5 (1.13%) Legacy Systems
9 5 (1.13%) Operational Technology
9 5 (1.13%) Security Operations Centre
10 4 (0.90%) Cyber Threat
Operating Systems
1 144 (32.51%) Windows
2 52 (11.74%) Linux
3 42 (9.48%) Windows Server
4 26 (5.87%) Unix
5 14 (3.16%) Windows 10
6 11 (2.48%) Windows Server 2003
7 9 (2.03%) Ubuntu
7 9 (2.03%) Windows Server 2016
8 7 (1.58%) Mac OS
9 6 (1.35%) Android
9 6 (1.35%) CentOS
9 6 (1.35%) Windows Server 2019
10 4 (0.90%) Apple iOS
11 2 (0.45%) Windows Server 2012
12 1 (0.23%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 133 (30.02%) Problem-Solving
2 67 (15.12%) Agile
3 54 (12.19%) DevOps
4 51 (11.51%) Migration
5 48 (10.84%) ITIL
6 39 (8.80%) Business Intelligence
7 37 (8.35%) Analytics
7 37 (8.35%) Project Management
8 35 (7.90%) Cybersecurity
8 35 (7.90%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 28 (6.32%) Collaborative Working
9 28 (6.32%) Stakeholder Management
10 27 (6.09%) Customer Service
11 25 (5.64%) Root Cause Analysis
12 24 (5.42%) CI/CD
13 23 (5.19%) Artificial Intelligence
13 23 (5.19%) Data Modelling
14 22 (4.97%) Continuous Improvement
14 22 (4.97%) Validation
15 20 (4.51%) Functional Testing
Programming Languages
1 74 (16.70%) SQL
2 59 (13.32%) PowerShell
3 35 (7.90%) Java
4 34 (7.67%) C#
4 34 (7.67%) Python
5 18 (4.06%) PL/SQL
6 16 (3.61%) Delphi
7 14 (3.16%) JavaScript
8 10 (2.26%) Bash
9 8 (1.81%) TypeScript
10 7 (1.58%) Bicep
11 6 (1.35%) Shell Script
11 6 (1.35%) T-SQL
12 5 (1.13%) Kusto Query Language
13 4 (0.90%) PHP
14 3 (0.68%) C++
14 3 (0.68%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 3 (0.68%) Perl
14 3 (0.68%) VB
14 3 (0.68%) VBA
Qualifications
1 89 (20.09%) Security Cleared
2 53 (11.96%) SC Cleared
3 52 (11.74%) Degree
4 31 (7.00%) Microsoft Certification
5 30 (6.77%) DV Cleared
6 24 (5.42%) Cisco Certification
7 19 (4.29%) CCNP
8 17 (3.84%) ISEB
8 17 (3.84%) ISTQB
8 17 (3.84%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
9 14 (3.16%) Computer Science Degree
10 10 (2.26%) A+ Certification
10 10 (2.26%) CISSP
11 9 (2.03%) MCSE
12 7 (1.58%) Azure Certification
12 7 (1.58%) CCNA
13 6 (1.35%) CISM
13 6 (1.35%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
14 5 (1.13%) MCSA
15 4 (0.90%) MCP
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (4.29%) SLA
2 10 (2.26%) GDPR
3 8 (1.81%) Data Quality
4 7 (1.58%) HIPAA
5 6 (1.35%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.35%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 5 (1.13%) NIST
7 4 (0.90%) NCSC
7 4 (0.90%) PMO
7 4 (0.90%) QA
8 3 (0.68%) PCI DSS
9 2 (0.45%) GRC
9 2 (0.45%) SOC 2
10 1 (0.23%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 1 (0.23%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 107 (24.15%) Active Directory
2 40 (9.03%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (4.97%) vSphere
4 13 (2.93%) VMware ESXi
5 12 (2.71%) Docker
5 12 (2.71%) Hyper-V
6 9 (2.03%) BitLocker
7 8 (1.81%) Microsoft App-V
7 8 (1.81%) Terminal Services
8 6 (1.35%) DFS Replication
8 6 (1.35%) Virtual Machines
8 6 (1.35%) XenApp
9 5 (1.13%) XenDesktop
10 4 (0.90%) NFS
10 4 (0.90%) VMware NSX
11 3 (0.68%) Apache ZooKeeper
11 3 (0.68%) Brightmail
11 3 (0.68%) ISA Server
12 1 (0.23%) Apache Flume
12 1 (0.23%) Virtual Desktop
Systems Management
1 29 (6.55%) Microsoft Intune
2 27 (6.09%) Terraform
3 22 (4.97%) Ansible
3 22 (4.97%) SCCM
4 20 (4.51%) Kubernetes
5 14 (3.16%) vCenter Server
6 11 (2.48%) Puppet
7 10 (2.26%) SCOM
8 8 (1.81%) Microsoft Clustering
8 8 (1.81%) Nagios
8 8 (1.81%) vMotion
9 6 (1.35%) Nessus
9 6 (1.35%) WSUS
10 3 (0.68%) Active Directory Federation Services
10 3 (0.68%) CloudHub
10 3 (0.68%) Prometheus
10 3 (0.68%) SCSM
10 3 (0.68%) Single Sign-On
10 3 (0.68%) WMI
11 2 (0.45%) Progress Chef
Vendors
1 53 (11.96%) VMware
2 31 (7.00%) Cisco
3 29 (6.55%) ServiceNow
4 28 (6.32%) Citrix
5 23 (5.19%) Oracle
6 21 (4.74%) HP
6 21 (4.74%) SAP
7 16 (3.61%) Juniper
8 12 (2.71%) Databricks
8 12 (2.71%) Dell
9 11 (2.48%) Google
10 9 (2.03%) Sage
10 9 (2.03%) Splunk
11 8 (1.81%) Symantec
12 7 (1.58%) Palo Alto
12 7 (1.58%) Salesforce
13 6 (1.35%) Red Hat
13 6 (1.35%) SolarWinds
14 5 (1.13%) Veeam
15 4 (0.90%) NetApp