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 12 September 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
12 Sep 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 9 13
Rank change year-on-year +3 +4 -7
Contract jobs citing Azure 433 242 269
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 11.60% 12.24% 10.07%
As % of the Cloud Services category 44.32% 40.20% 38.43%
Number of daily rates quoted 302 186 198
10th Percentile £394 £304 £359
25th Percentile £450 £389 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £500 £525
Median % change year-on-year +10.00% -4.76% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £650 £600
90th Percentile £725 £708 £700
England median daily rate £525 £525 £538
% change year-on-year - -2.33% -2.27%
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 £70.00 £85.00
Median % change year-on-year +37.52% -17.65% +304.76%
75th Percentile £98.13 £77.80 £92.50
90th Percentile £99.25 £78.34 -
England median hourly rate £52.50 £35.99 £36.75
% change year-on-year +45.87% -2.07% -20.42%

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 977 602 700
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 26.18% 30.45% 26.20%
Number of daily rates quoted 641 412 460
10th Percentile £325 £213 £241
25th Percentile £425 £354 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £525
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% -9.52% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £588 £613
90th Percentile £725 £692 £685
England median daily rate £525 £500 £525
% change year-on-year +5.00% -4.76% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 55 38 44
10th Percentile £13.79 £18.13 £14.35
25th Percentile £14.80 £18.51 £33.00
Median hourly rate £18.50 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year -1.96% -73.04% +87.79%
75th Percentile £40.00 £34.50 -
90th Percentile £89.52 £37.50 -
England median hourly rate £33.99 £26.38 £30.88
% change year-on-year +28.87% -14.57% -6.44%

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 12 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 12 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 -1 114 £550 +24.36% 96
Somerset +3 113 £478 +12.35% 56
Devon +7 59 £530 +1.44% 41
Gloucestershire -3 52 £525 +5.00% 81
Wiltshire -3 40 £503 -14.47% 33
Dorset +1 30 £675 +34.33% 22
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 31 (7.16%) SharePoint
2 29 (6.70%) Confluence
3 10 (2.31%) Apache Spark
4 6 (1.39%) IIS
5 5 (1.15%) Apache
5 5 (1.15%) Microsoft Exchange
6 4 (0.92%) Apache Airflow
7 2 (0.46%) nginx
8 1 (0.23%) ColdFusion
8 1 (0.23%) JBoss
8 1 (0.23%) Oracle Coherence
8 1 (0.23%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 5 (1.15%) MS Visio
2 3 (0.69%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.69%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.69%) Trello
3 1 (0.23%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Project
3 1 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.46%) Unit4 Business World
2 1 (0.23%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.23%) Remedy ITSM
2 1 (0.23%) ResourceLink
2 1 (0.23%) SAP EHS
2 1 (0.23%) SAP Hybris
Cloud Services
1 189 (43.65%) AWS
2 80 (18.48%) Azure DevOps
3 78 (18.01%) GCP
4 56 (12.93%) Entra ID
5 39 (9.01%) Microsoft 365
6 32 (7.39%) GitHub
7 24 (5.54%) Power Platform
8 15 (3.46%) Azure AKS
8 15 (3.46%) Azure Key Vault
8 15 (3.46%) Serverless
9 13 (3.00%) Azure Data Factory
9 13 (3.00%) GitHub Actions
10 12 (2.77%) Azure Monitor
11 11 (2.54%) Cloud Computing
12 10 (2.31%) PaaS
12 10 (2.31%) SaaS
13 9 (2.08%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 9 (2.08%) Azure Sentinel
13 9 (2.08%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 9 (2.08%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 33 (7.62%) Firewall
2 23 (5.31%) DNS
3 16 (3.70%) TCP/IP
4 15 (3.46%) VPN
5 14 (3.23%) DHCP
5 14 (3.23%) WAN
6 10 (2.31%) VLAN
7 9 (2.08%) BGP
8 8 (1.85%) VSAN
9 6 (1.39%) Network Security
10 4 (0.92%) LAN
10 4 (0.92%) OSPF
10 4 (0.92%) SAN
11 3 (0.69%) Cisco IOS
11 3 (0.69%) Intrusion Detection
11 3 (0.69%) NAS
11 3 (0.69%) Software-Defined Networking
11 3 (0.69%) Wireless
12 2 (0.46%) Reverse Proxy
12 2 (0.46%) SSL
Database & Business Intelligence
1 24 (5.54%) SQL Server
2 20 (4.62%) Power BI
3 13 (3.00%) Geospatial Data
4 12 (2.77%) PostgreSQL
5 9 (2.08%) Data Lake
5 9 (2.08%) Data Warehouse
5 9 (2.08%) Elasticsearch
6 8 (1.85%) Oracle Database
7 7 (1.62%) Azure SQL Database
7 7 (1.62%) MongoDB
8 6 (1.39%) Amazon RDS
8 6 (1.39%) Big Data
8 6 (1.39%) Metadata
8 6 (1.39%) NoSQL
9 5 (1.15%) SQL Server Integration Services
10 4 (0.92%) Relational Database
11 3 (0.69%) Data Vault
11 3 (0.69%) Delta Lake
11 3 (0.69%) Hadoop
11 3 (0.69%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 51 (11.78%) Git
2 40 (9.24%) JIRA
3 34 (7.85%) GitLab
4 30 (6.93%) Jenkins
5 11 (2.54%) MSI
6 3 (0.69%) AdminStudio
6 3 (0.69%) Claude Code
6 3 (0.69%) InstallShield
6 3 (0.69%) JUnit
6 3 (0.69%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 3 (0.69%) Visual Studio Code
7 2 (0.46%) MLflow
7 2 (0.46%) Selenium
7 2 (0.46%) Spinnaker
7 2 (0.46%) Visual Studio Team System
8 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.23%) Cucumber
8 1 (0.23%) Gradle
8 1 (0.23%) TestNG
8 1 (0.23%) WebDriver
General
1 81 (18.71%) Social Skills
2 60 (13.86%) Public Sector
3 29 (6.70%) Analytical Skills
4 26 (6.00%) Finance
5 11 (2.54%) Legal
5 11 (2.54%) Local Government
6 10 (2.31%) Military
7 8 (1.85%) Documentation Skills
7 8 (1.85%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 6 (1.39%) Banking
8 6 (1.39%) Organisational Skills
9 5 (1.15%) Retail
10 4 (0.92%) Police
11 3 (0.69%) Advertising
11 3 (0.69%) Aviation
11 3 (0.69%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.46%) Marketing
13 1 (0.23%) Aerospace
13 1 (0.23%) Manufacturing
13 1 (0.23%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 68 (15.70%) Architect
2 53 (12.24%) Developer
3 34 (7.85%) Senior
4 32 (7.39%) DevOps Engineer
5 30 (6.93%) Lead
6 27 (6.24%) Product Manager
7 26 (6.00%) Consultant
8 24 (5.54%) Digital Product Manager
9 23 (5.31%) Azure Engineer
10 21 (4.85%) Solutions Architect
11 20 (4.62%) Technical Architect
12 19 (4.39%) Data Engineer
13 16 (3.70%) Azure DevOps Engineer
13 16 (3.70%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 15 (3.46%) Analyst
14 15 (3.46%) Azure Architect
15 13 (3.00%) Azure Consultant
15 13 (3.00%) DBA
15 13 (3.00%) Software Developer
16 12 (2.77%) Software Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 98 (22.63%) Terraform
2 40 (9.24%) .NET
3 25 (5.77%) .NET Framework
4 23 (5.31%) REST
5 20 (4.62%) RESTful
6 18 (4.16%) .NET Core
6 18 (4.16%) React
7 17 (3.93%) CSS
7 17 (3.93%) HTML
8 14 (3.23%) Kafka
9 13 (3.00%) GeoJSON
10 11 (2.54%) ATL
10 11 (2.54%) COM
10 11 (2.54%) CSS3
10 11 (2.54%) HTML5
10 11 (2.54%) MFC
10 11 (2.54%) WPF
11 10 (2.31%) ARM Templates
11 10 (2.31%) Node.js
11 10 (2.31%) SailPoint
Miscellaneous
1 57 (13.16%) Cloud Native
2 38 (8.78%) Legacy Systems
3 30 (6.93%) Product Ownership
4 25 (5.77%) Onboarding
5 19 (4.39%) Enterprise Software
6 16 (3.70%) Wiki
7 13 (3.00%) Hybrid Cloud
8 12 (2.77%) Data Centre
8 12 (2.77%) Linux Command Line
8 12 (2.77%) Public Cloud
9 9 (2.08%) Security Operations Centre
9 9 (2.08%) Self-Motivation
10 7 (1.62%) Cyber Threat
10 7 (1.62%) Data Structures
10 7 (1.62%) Enterprise Cloud
11 6 (1.39%) PKI
12 4 (0.92%) Augmented Reality
12 4 (0.92%) Management Information System
12 4 (0.92%) Team-Oriented Environment
12 4 (0.92%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 70 (16.17%) Windows
2 36 (8.31%) Linux
3 24 (5.54%) Windows Server
4 15 (3.46%) Windows 10
5 8 (1.85%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 6 (1.39%) Android
6 6 (1.39%) Unix
7 5 (1.15%) Mac OS
8 4 (0.92%) Rocky
8 4 (0.92%) Ubuntu
9 3 (0.69%) Debian
10 2 (0.46%) Apple iOS
10 2 (0.46%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.23%) CentOS
11 1 (0.23%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 151 (34.87%) DevOps
2 142 (32.79%) Agile
3 137 (31.64%) CI/CD
4 99 (22.86%) Infrastructure as Code
5 74 (17.09%) Containerisation
6 64 (14.78%) Continuous Improvement
7 57 (13.16%) Roadmaps
8 55 (12.70%) Stakeholder Management
9 54 (12.47%) DevSecOps
10 52 (12.01%) Problem-Solving
11 43 (9.93%) Technical Leadership
12 42 (9.70%) Deployment Automation
13 40 (9.24%) Decision-Making
14 39 (9.01%) Microservices
14 39 (9.01%) Test Automation
15 38 (8.78%) Software Engineering
16 37 (8.55%) Analytics
16 37 (8.55%) Observability
17 36 (8.31%) Data Modelling
17 36 (8.31%) Platform Engineering
Programming Languages
1 79 (18.24%) Python
2 60 (13.86%) SQL
3 43 (9.93%) PowerShell
4 40 (9.24%) C#
5 37 (8.55%) Bash
6 36 (8.31%) Java
7 28 (6.47%) JavaScript
8 27 (6.24%) Bicep
9 24 (5.54%) TypeScript
10 13 (3.00%) Go
11 5 (1.15%) BeanShell
12 4 (0.92%) PL/SQL
12 4 (0.92%) R
12 4 (0.92%) Shell Script
13 3 (0.69%) T-SQL
14 2 (0.46%) C++
14 2 (0.46%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 2 (0.46%) Kotlin
15 1 (0.23%) Kusto Query Language
15 1 (0.23%) Rust
Qualifications
1 230 (53.12%) Security Cleared
2 165 (38.11%) SC Cleared
3 64 (14.78%) DV Cleared
4 20 (4.62%) Degree
5 16 (3.70%) CISSP
6 14 (3.23%) Azure Certification
7 12 (2.77%) Cisco Certification
7 12 (2.77%) Microsoft Certification
8 11 (2.54%) CISM
9 7 (1.62%) BPSS Clearance
9 7 (1.62%) Computer Science Degree
10 6 (1.39%) CCNA
11 5 (1.15%) (ISC)2 CCSP
11 5 (1.15%) TOGAF Certification
12 4 (0.92%) AWS Certification
13 3 (0.69%) ACSP
13 3 (0.69%) VCAP
14 2 (0.46%) A+ Certification
14 2 (0.46%) ISTQB
14 2 (0.46%) ITIL Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (5.08%) QA
2 20 (4.62%) Data Quality
2 20 (4.62%) NCSC
3 13 (3.00%) Accessibility
4 11 (2.54%) SLA
4 11 (2.54%) WCAG
5 9 (2.08%) GDPR
6 6 (1.39%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 5 (1.15%) ISO 9000
7 5 (1.15%) NIST
8 3 (0.69%) SNOMED CT
9 2 (0.46%) Cyber Essentials
9 2 (0.46%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 2 (0.46%) GRC
9 2 (0.46%) HL7
10 1 (0.23%) Disclosure Scotland
10 1 (0.23%) Government Security Classifications
10 1 (0.23%) HMG Security Policy Framework
10 1 (0.23%) ISO 22301
10 1 (0.23%) PMO
System Software
1 73 (16.86%) Docker
2 61 (14.09%) Active Directory
3 27 (6.24%) VMware Infrastructure
4 18 (4.16%) Hyper-V
5 17 (3.93%) Virtual Desktop
6 10 (2.31%) Virtual Machines
6 10 (2.31%) vSphere
7 7 (1.62%) VMware NSX
8 3 (0.69%) VirtualBox
9 2 (0.46%) KVM
10 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 1 (0.23%) NFS
10 1 (0.23%) Virtual Servers
10 1 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
10 1 (0.23%) zsh
Systems Management
1 101 (23.33%) Kubernetes
2 42 (9.70%) Ansible
3 21 (4.85%) Microsoft Intune
4 14 (3.23%) Grafana
5 13 (3.00%) Argo
6 12 (2.77%) Prometheus
7 7 (1.62%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 7 (1.62%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (1.39%) FortiGate
9 5 (1.15%) OPNET
9 5 (1.15%) VxRail
10 4 (0.92%) Istio
10 4 (0.92%) Proxmox
10 4 (0.92%) SCCM
11 3 (0.69%) Progress Chef
12 2 (0.46%) CASB
12 2 (0.46%) Data Guard
12 2 (0.46%) Kustomize
12 2 (0.46%) linkerd
12 2 (0.46%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 163 (37.64%) Microsoft
2 28 (6.47%) VMware
3 25 (5.77%) Google
4 21 (4.85%) Oracle
5 20 (4.62%) Databricks
6 11 (2.54%) Cisco
6 11 (2.54%) CyberArk
7 8 (1.85%) Red Hat
8 7 (1.62%) InterSystems
8 7 (1.62%) Splunk
9 6 (1.39%) Dynatrace
9 6 (1.39%) MuleSoft
10 5 (1.15%) McAfee
10 5 (1.15%) NetApp
10 5 (1.15%) Starlink
10 5 (1.15%) Zscaler
11 4 (0.92%) Apple
11 4 (0.92%) SAP
12 3 (0.69%) Foundry
12 3 (0.69%) Thales