Azure Contract Job Trends in the South West

Microsoft Azure
England > South West

The table below provides summary statistics and contractor rates for jobs advertised in the South West requiring Azure skills. It covers contract job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 25 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
25 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 8 13
Rank change year-on-year +2 +5 -6
Contract jobs citing Azure 419 248 265
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 11.15% 12.64% 10.16%
As % of the Cloud Services category 42.84% 40.33% 38.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 290 191 192
10th Percentile £403 £300 £363
25th Percentile £450 £400 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £648 £650 £600
90th Percentile £738 £710 £699
England median daily rate £525 £525 £540
% change year-on-year - -2.78% -1.82%
Number of hourly rates quoted 2 4 1
10th Percentile £93.28 £27.40 -
25th Percentile £94.40 £46.75 £77.50
Median hourly rate £96.27 £64.00 £85.00
Median % change year-on-year +50.41% -24.71% +434.59%
75th Percentile £98.13 £73.75 £92.50
90th Percentile £99.25 £76.00 -
England median hourly rate £52.50 £33.39 £38.50
% change year-on-year +57.26% -13.29% -16.63%

All Cloud Computing Skills
South West

Azure falls under the Cloud Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring cloud computing skills in the South West.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for cloud computing skills 978 615 692
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 26.03% 31.35% 26.54%
Number of daily rates quoted 637 421 442
10th Percentile £335 £213 £250
25th Percentile £428 £353 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £538 £475 £529
Median % change year-on-year +13.16% -10.12% -3.91%
75th Percentile £644 £588 £625
90th Percentile £730 £700 £688
England median daily rate £525 £501 £533
% change year-on-year +4.90% -6.10% -3.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 60 36 43
10th Percentile £14.00 £18.13 £25.26
25th Percentile £15.24 £18.78 £33.00
Median hourly rate £19.37 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +2.62% -73.04% +112.12%
75th Percentile £49.06 £33.94 -
90th Percentile £85.75 £36.75 -
England median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £34.47
% change year-on-year +29.22% -27.03% +4.44%

Azure
Job Vacancy Trend in the South West

Historical trend showing the proportion of contract IT job postings citing Azure relative to all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West.

Azure job vacancy trend in the South West

Azure
Daily Rate Trend in the South West

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Azure.

Contractor daily rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Azure

Azure
Daily Rate Histogram in the South West

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Azure in the South West over the 6 months to 25 September 2026.

Daily rate histogram for Azure in the South West

Azure
Hourly Rate Trend in the South West

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Azure.

Contractor hourly rate distribution trend for jobs in the South West citing Azure

Azure
Contract Job Locations in the South West

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Azure within the South West region over the 6 months to 25 September 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
Bristol -3 113 £550 +23.04% 107
Somerset +2 103 £475 +11.76% 83
Devon +9 60 £528 +0.48% 46
Gloucestershire -5 47 £550 - 125
Wiltshire -1 41 £520 -11.49% 46
Dorset 0 29 £675 +34.33% 24
Azure
England

Azure
Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in the South West 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 30 (7.16%) Confluence
2 29 (6.92%) SharePoint
3 10 (2.39%) Apache Spark
4 6 (1.43%) Microsoft Exchange
5 5 (1.19%) Apache Airflow
6 4 (0.95%) Apache
7 2 (0.48%) nginx
8 1 (0.24%) ColdFusion
8 1 (0.24%) IIS
8 1 (0.24%) JBoss
8 1 (0.24%) Oracle Coherence
8 1 (0.24%) Palantir Foundry
8 1 (0.24%) Traefik
Applications
1 5 (1.19%) MS Visio
2 3 (0.72%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.72%) Trello
3 2 (0.48%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.24%) Microsoft Project
Business Applications
1 1 (0.24%) Dynamics CRM
1 1 (0.24%) Remedy ITSM
1 1 (0.24%) ResourceLink
1 1 (0.24%) SAP Hybris
Cloud Services
1 182 (43.44%) AWS
2 78 (18.62%) Azure DevOps
3 76 (18.14%) GCP
4 50 (11.93%) Entra ID
5 40 (9.55%) Microsoft 365
6 29 (6.92%) GitHub
7 24 (5.73%) Power Platform
8 16 (3.82%) Azure Data Factory
9 15 (3.58%) Azure AKS
9 15 (3.58%) Azure Key Vault
9 15 (3.58%) Serverless
10 12 (2.86%) GitHub Actions
11 10 (2.39%) SaaS
12 9 (2.15%) Azure ExpressRoute
12 9 (2.15%) Azure Functions
12 9 (2.15%) Azure Monitor
12 9 (2.15%) Azure Sentinel
12 9 (2.15%) Cloud Computing
12 9 (2.15%) Google Kubernetes Engine
12 9 (2.15%) PaaS
Communications & Networking
1 33 (7.88%) Firewall
2 22 (5.25%) DNS
3 16 (3.82%) TCP/IP
4 15 (3.58%) DHCP
4 15 (3.58%) WAN
5 14 (3.34%) VPN
6 10 (2.39%) VLAN
7 9 (2.15%) BGP
8 8 (1.91%) VSAN
9 5 (1.19%) Cisco IOS
9 5 (1.19%) LAN
9 5 (1.19%) Network Security
9 5 (1.19%) Wireless
10 4 (0.95%) OSPF
10 4 (0.95%) SAN
11 3 (0.72%) Intrusion Detection
11 3 (0.72%) NAS
11 3 (0.72%) Software-Defined Networking
12 2 (0.48%) Asterisk PBX
12 2 (0.48%) PABX
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (5.49%) SQL Server
2 19 (4.53%) Power BI
3 14 (3.34%) PostgreSQL
4 13 (3.10%) Geospatial Data
5 12 (2.86%) Elasticsearch
6 9 (2.15%) Data Lake
7 8 (1.91%) Oracle Database
8 7 (1.67%) Azure SQL Database
8 7 (1.67%) MongoDB
9 6 (1.43%) Big Data
9 6 (1.43%) Data Warehouse
9 6 (1.43%) Metadata
9 6 (1.43%) NoSQL
10 5 (1.19%) Amazon RDS
10 5 (1.19%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 4 (0.95%) Hadoop
12 3 (0.72%) EDRMS
12 3 (0.72%) Relational Database
12 3 (0.72%) Tableau
13 2 (0.48%) Amazon Redshift
Development Applications
1 49 (11.69%) Git
2 38 (9.07%) JIRA
3 34 (8.11%) GitLab
4 31 (7.40%) Jenkins
5 11 (2.63%) MSI
6 4 (0.95%) Selenium
7 3 (0.72%) Claude Code
7 3 (0.72%) JUnit
7 3 (0.72%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
8 2 (0.48%) Appium
8 2 (0.48%) Cucumber
8 2 (0.48%) Spinnaker
8 2 (0.48%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.48%) Visual Studio Team System
9 1 (0.24%) Bitbucket
9 1 (0.24%) Gatling
9 1 (0.24%) Gradle
9 1 (0.24%) Sonatype Nexus
9 1 (0.24%) TestNG
9 1 (0.24%) WebDriver
General
1 75 (17.90%) Social Skills
2 58 (13.84%) Public Sector
3 25 (5.97%) Analytical Skills
4 23 (5.49%) Finance
5 12 (2.86%) Local Government
6 10 (2.39%) Military
7 9 (2.15%) Legal
8 8 (1.91%) Banking
8 8 (1.91%) Documentation Skills
8 8 (1.91%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 5 (1.19%) Retail
10 4 (0.95%) Organisational Skills
10 4 (0.95%) Police
11 3 (0.72%) Advertising
11 3 (0.72%) Aviation
11 3 (0.72%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.48%) Marketing
13 1 (0.24%) Manufacturing
13 1 (0.24%) Presentation Skills
13 1 (0.24%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 68 (16.23%) Architect
2 55 (13.13%) Developer
3 38 (9.07%) Senior
4 31 (7.40%) Lead
5 28 (6.68%) DevOps Engineer
6 27 (6.44%) Product Manager
7 26 (6.21%) Consultant
8 24 (5.73%) Digital Product Manager
9 22 (5.25%) Solutions Architect
10 21 (5.01%) Azure Engineer
11 20 (4.77%) Data Engineer
11 20 (4.77%) Technical Architect
12 17 (4.06%) Azure DevOps Engineer
13 16 (3.82%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 15 (3.58%) Azure Architect
14 15 (3.58%) Software Developer
15 14 (3.34%) Analyst
15 14 (3.34%) Azure Consultant
16 13 (3.10%) DBA
17 12 (2.86%) .NET Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 92 (21.96%) Terraform
2 38 (9.07%) .NET
3 23 (5.49%) REST
4 22 (5.25%) .NET Framework
4 22 (5.25%) RESTful
5 19 (4.53%) React
6 18 (4.30%) .NET Core
7 17 (4.06%) CSS
7 17 (4.06%) HTML
7 17 (4.06%) Kafka
8 13 (3.10%) GeoJSON
9 11 (2.63%) ATL
9 11 (2.63%) COM
9 11 (2.63%) CSS3
9 11 (2.63%) HTML5
9 11 (2.63%) MFC
9 11 (2.63%) WPF
10 10 (2.39%) ARM Templates
10 10 (2.39%) Node.js
10 10 (2.39%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 60 (14.32%) Cloud Native
2 35 (8.35%) Legacy Systems
3 26 (6.21%) Onboarding
4 25 (5.97%) Product Ownership
5 17 (4.06%) Enterprise Software
6 16 (3.82%) Hybrid Cloud
6 16 (3.82%) Wiki
7 12 (2.86%) Data Centre
8 11 (2.63%) Linux Command Line
8 11 (2.63%) Public Cloud
9 9 (2.15%) Security Operations Centre
10 8 (1.91%) Self-Motivation
11 7 (1.67%) Cyber Threat
11 7 (1.67%) Enterprise Cloud
12 6 (1.43%) PKI
13 5 (1.19%) AI Agents
14 4 (0.95%) Data Structures
14 4 (0.95%) Team-Oriented Environment
15 3 (0.72%) Driving Licence
15 3 (0.72%) Virtual Team
Operating Systems
1 60 (14.32%) Windows
2 29 (6.92%) Linux
3 19 (4.53%) Windows Server
4 10 (2.39%) Windows 10
5 6 (1.43%) Unix
6 5 (1.19%) Android
6 5 (1.19%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.95%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.72%) Rocky
8 3 (0.72%) Ubuntu
9 2 (0.48%) Apple iOS
9 2 (0.48%) Debian
9 2 (0.48%) Windows Server 2019
10 1 (0.24%) CentOS
10 1 (0.24%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 144 (34.37%) DevOps
2 134 (31.98%) CI/CD
3 130 (31.03%) Agile
4 92 (21.96%) Infrastructure as Code
5 73 (17.42%) Containerisation
6 57 (13.60%) Continuous Improvement
6 57 (13.60%) Roadmaps
7 56 (13.37%) DevSecOps
8 52 (12.41%) Stakeholder Management
9 46 (10.98%) Problem-Solving
10 41 (9.79%) Technical Leadership
11 40 (9.55%) Decision-Making
11 40 (9.55%) Deployment Automation
11 40 (9.55%) Software Engineering
12 39 (9.31%) Microservices
13 38 (9.07%) Test Automation
14 37 (8.83%) Observability
15 36 (8.59%) Platform Engineering
16 35 (8.35%) Analytics
17 34 (8.11%) Data Modelling
Programming Languages
1 82 (19.57%) Python
2 62 (14.80%) SQL
3 44 (10.50%) C#
4 38 (9.07%) Java
4 38 (9.07%) PowerShell
5 36 (8.59%) Bash
6 27 (6.44%) JavaScript
7 26 (6.21%) Bicep
8 25 (5.97%) TypeScript
9 14 (3.34%) Go
10 5 (1.19%) BeanShell
11 4 (0.95%) PL/SQL
11 4 (0.95%) R
12 3 (0.72%) Shell Script
12 3 (0.72%) T-SQL
13 2 (0.48%) C++
13 2 (0.48%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 2 (0.48%) Kotlin
14 1 (0.24%) C
14 1 (0.24%) Kusto Query Language
Qualifications
1 219 (52.27%) Security Cleared
2 154 (36.75%) SC Cleared
3 70 (16.71%) DV Cleared
4 19 (4.53%) Degree
5 16 (3.82%) CISSP
6 14 (3.34%) Azure Certification
7 12 (2.86%) Cisco Certification
8 11 (2.63%) CISM
9 10 (2.39%) Microsoft Certification
10 6 (1.43%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (1.43%) CCNA
10 6 (1.43%) Computer Science Degree
11 5 (1.19%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 4 (0.95%) AWS Certification
12 4 (0.95%) TOGAF Certification
13 3 (0.72%) VCAP
14 2 (0.48%) ACSP
14 2 (0.48%) CCSK
14 2 (0.48%) DBS Check
14 2 (0.48%) ISTQB
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 20 (4.77%) QA
2 19 (4.53%) Data Quality
3 18 (4.30%) NCSC
4 14 (3.34%) Accessibility
5 11 (2.63%) SLA
5 11 (2.63%) WCAG
6 7 (1.67%) GDPR
7 6 (1.43%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 5 (1.19%) ISO 9000
8 5 (1.19%) NIST
9 2 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.48%) GRC
10 1 (0.24%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.24%) Government Security Classifications
10 1 (0.24%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.24%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.24%) JSP 440
10 1 (0.24%) NIST 800
10 1 (0.24%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 71 (16.95%) Docker
2 56 (13.37%) Active Directory
3 28 (6.68%) VMware Infrastructure
4 19 (4.53%) Hyper-V
5 16 (3.82%) Virtual Desktop
6 11 (2.63%) vSphere
7 10 (2.39%) Virtual Machines
8 7 (1.67%) VMware NSX
9 3 (0.72%) VirtualBox
10 2 (0.48%) KVM
11 1 (0.24%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.24%) NFS
11 1 (0.24%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.24%) VMware ESXi
11 1 (0.24%) zsh
Systems Management
1 100 (23.87%) Kubernetes
2 39 (9.31%) Ansible
3 14 (3.34%) Microsoft Intune
4 12 (2.86%) Argo
4 12 (2.86%) Grafana
5 10 (2.39%) Prometheus
6 7 (1.67%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 6 (1.43%) FortiGate
7 6 (1.43%) Single Sign-On
8 5 (1.19%) Istio
8 5 (1.19%) OPNET
8 5 (1.19%) VxRail
9 4 (0.95%) Proxmox
10 2 (0.48%) CASB
10 2 (0.48%) Cilium
10 2 (0.48%) Failover Clustering
10 2 (0.48%) Kustomize
10 2 (0.48%) linkerd
10 2 (0.48%) Oracle RMAN
10 2 (0.48%) Podman
Vendors
1 156 (37.23%) Microsoft
2 29 (6.92%) Google
2 29 (6.92%) VMware
3 22 (5.25%) Oracle
4 20 (4.77%) Databricks
5 13 (3.10%) Cisco
6 11 (2.63%) CyberArk
7 7 (1.67%) Splunk
8 6 (1.43%) Dynatrace
9 5 (1.19%) InterSystems
9 5 (1.19%) Red Hat
9 5 (1.19%) Zscaler
10 4 (0.95%) Foundry
10 4 (0.95%) MuleSoft
10 4 (0.95%) NetApp
11 3 (0.72%) Apple
11 3 (0.72%) McAfee
11 3 (0.72%) Meraki
11 3 (0.72%) Starlink
11 3 (0.72%) Thales