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

6 months to
7 Oct 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 6 9 13
Rank change year-on-year +3 +4 -6
Contract jobs citing Azure 413 255 252
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 11.09% 13.01% 9.92%
As % of the Cloud Services category 43.11% 40.93% 36.36%
Number of daily rates quoted 280 193 176
10th Percentile £405 £309 £344
25th Percentile £463 £400 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £512 £500
Median % change year-on-year +7.53% +2.30% -10.31%
75th Percentile £650 £675 £600
90th Percentile £738 £713 £700
England median daily rate £530 £525 £538
% change year-on-year +0.95% -2.33% -2.27%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3 4 1
10th Percentile £68.51 £27.40 -
25th Percentile £77.52 £46.75 £77.50
Median hourly rate £92.53 £64.00 £85.00
Median % change year-on-year +44.58% -24.71% +434.59%
75th Percentile £96.27 £73.75 £92.50
90th Percentile £98.51 £76.00 -
England median hourly rate £52.50 £33.39 £35.00
% change year-on-year +57.26% -4.61% -24.21%

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 958 623 693
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 25.73% 31.79% 27.28%
Number of daily rates quoted 617 426 435
10th Percentile £350 £213 £235
25th Percentile £449 £353 £419
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £550 £480 £532
Median % change year-on-year +14.70% -9.87% -3.27%
75th Percentile £650 £600 £631
90th Percentile £738 £700 £700
England median daily rate £525 £501 £525
% change year-on-year +4.90% -4.67% -2.86%
Number of hourly rates quoted 62 32 43
10th Percentile £14.36 £18.51 £25.26
25th Percentile £16.62 - £33.00
Median hourly rate £20.58 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year +9.04% -73.04% +112.12%
75th Percentile £54.40 £34.56 -
90th Percentile £83.50 £57.60 -
England median hourly rate £32.50 £25.15 £35.00
% change year-on-year +29.22% -28.14% +7.99%

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 7 October 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
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South West

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Azure in the South West over the 6 months to 7 October 2026.

Hourly rate histogram for Azure in the South West

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 7 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
Bristol -3 110 £550 +13.64% 107
Somerset +2 100 £495 +16.47% 79
Devon +10 61 £530 +0.95% 61
Gloucestershire -5 47 £550 - 126
Wiltshire -7 43 £535 -4.04% 56
Dorset 0 26 £675 +34.33% 41
Avon - 2 - - 64
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 (7.26%) Confluence
2 26 (6.30%) SharePoint
3 10 (2.42%) Apache Spark
4 6 (1.45%) Microsoft Exchange
5 5 (1.21%) Apache Airflow
6 4 (0.97%) Apache
7 2 (0.48%) nginx
8 1 (0.24%) ColdFusion
8 1 (0.24%) JBoss
8 1 (0.24%) Oracle Coherence
8 1 (0.24%) Palantir Foundry
8 1 (0.24%) Traefik
Applications
1 6 (1.45%) MS Visio
2 3 (0.73%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.73%) Trello
3 2 (0.48%) Microsoft Excel
4 1 (0.24%) Microsoft PowerPoint
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
1 176 (42.62%) AWS
2 81 (19.61%) Azure DevOps
3 75 (18.16%) GCP
4 52 (12.59%) Entra ID
5 40 (9.69%) Microsoft 365
6 29 (7.02%) GitHub
7 28 (6.78%) Power Platform
8 17 (4.12%) Azure Data Factory
9 15 (3.63%) Azure AKS
10 14 (3.39%) GitHub Actions
11 13 (3.15%) Serverless
12 12 (2.91%) Azure Key Vault
13 11 (2.66%) SaaS
14 10 (2.42%) Azure Sentinel
15 9 (2.18%) Azure ExpressRoute
15 9 (2.18%) Azure Functions
15 9 (2.18%) Cloud Computing
15 9 (2.18%) Google Kubernetes Engine
16 8 (1.94%) Azure Monitor
16 8 (1.94%) Azure Synapse Analytics
Communications & Networking
1 35 (8.47%) Firewall
2 24 (5.81%) DNS
3 18 (4.36%) TCP/IP
4 16 (3.87%) DHCP
4 16 (3.87%) WAN
5 13 (3.15%) VPN
6 11 (2.66%) VLAN
7 9 (2.18%) BGP
8 8 (1.94%) VSAN
9 6 (1.45%) Network Security
10 5 (1.21%) Cisco IOS
10 5 (1.21%) LAN
10 5 (1.21%) Wireless
11 4 (0.97%) OSPF
11 4 (0.97%) SAN
12 3 (0.73%) Intrusion Detection
12 3 (0.73%) NAS
12 3 (0.73%) Software-Defined Networking
13 2 (0.48%) NX-OS
13 2 (0.48%) SD-WAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 23 (5.57%) Power BI
2 22 (5.33%) SQL Server
3 15 (3.63%) PostgreSQL
4 13 (3.15%) Elasticsearch
4 13 (3.15%) Geospatial Data
5 8 (1.94%) Data Lake
5 8 (1.94%) Oracle Database
6 7 (1.69%) Azure SQL Database
7 6 (1.45%) Amazon RDS
7 6 (1.45%) Big Data
7 6 (1.45%) NoSQL
7 6 (1.45%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 5 (1.21%) Data Warehouse
8 5 (1.21%) Metadata
8 5 (1.21%) Power Query
9 4 (0.97%) Hadoop
9 4 (0.97%) MongoDB
10 3 (0.73%) EDRMS
10 3 (0.73%) Relational Database
11 2 (0.48%) Amazon Redshift
Development Applications
1 48 (11.62%) Git
2 38 (9.20%) JIRA
3 35 (8.47%) Jenkins
4 33 (7.99%) GitLab
5 11 (2.66%) MSI
6 3 (0.73%) Claude Code
6 3 (0.73%) Selenium
6 3 (0.73%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
7 2 (0.48%) Appium
7 2 (0.48%) Cucumber
7 2 (0.48%) JUnit
7 2 (0.48%) Postman
7 2 (0.48%) Spinnaker
7 2 (0.48%) Visual Studio Team System
8 1 (0.24%) Fiddler
8 1 (0.24%) LoadRunner
8 1 (0.24%) Oracle Forms
8 1 (0.24%) TestNG
8 1 (0.24%) Visual Studio
8 1 (0.24%) WebDriver
General
1 71 (17.19%) Social Skills
2 59 (14.29%) Public Sector
3 25 (6.05%) Analytical Skills
4 23 (5.57%) Finance
5 12 (2.91%) Local Government
6 10 (2.42%) Military
7 8 (1.94%) Banking
7 8 (1.94%) Inclusion and Diversity
7 8 (1.94%) Legal
8 7 (1.69%) Documentation Skills
9 5 (1.21%) Retail
10 4 (0.97%) Organisational Skills
10 4 (0.97%) Police
11 3 (0.73%) Advertising
11 3 (0.73%) Aviation
11 3 (0.73%) 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 64 (15.50%) Architect
2 58 (14.04%) Developer
3 40 (9.69%) Senior
4 29 (7.02%) DevOps Engineer
4 29 (7.02%) Lead
5 28 (6.78%) Consultant
6 26 (6.30%) Product Manager
7 24 (5.81%) Digital Product Manager
8 21 (5.08%) Data Engineer
9 20 (4.84%) Solutions Architect
10 18 (4.36%) Azure Engineer
11 17 (4.12%) Azure Consultant
11 17 (4.12%) Technical Architect
12 16 (3.87%) Infrastructure Engineer
12 16 (3.87%) Software Developer
13 15 (3.63%) Analyst
13 15 (3.63%) Azure DevOps Engineer
14 13 (3.15%) DBA
15 12 (2.91%) .NET Developer
16 11 (2.66%) Data Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 96 (23.24%) Terraform
2 37 (8.96%) .NET
3 23 (5.57%) REST
4 22 (5.33%) RESTful
5 20 (4.84%) .NET Framework
6 18 (4.36%) .NET Core
6 18 (4.36%) React
7 17 (4.12%) CSS
7 17 (4.12%) HTML
8 15 (3.63%) Kafka
9 13 (3.15%) GeoJSON
10 11 (2.66%) ATL
10 11 (2.66%) COM
10 11 (2.66%) CSS3
10 11 (2.66%) HTML5
10 11 (2.66%) MFC
10 11 (2.66%) WPF
11 10 (2.42%) ARM Templates
12 9 (2.18%) Node.js
13 8 (1.94%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 57 (13.80%) Cloud Native
2 33 (7.99%) Legacy Systems
3 26 (6.30%) Onboarding
4 24 (5.81%) Product Ownership
5 17 (4.12%) Hybrid Cloud
6 15 (3.63%) Enterprise Software
6 15 (3.63%) Wiki
7 12 (2.91%) Data Centre
7 12 (2.91%) Linux Command Line
8 9 (2.18%) Public Cloud
8 9 (2.18%) Security Operations Centre
9 7 (1.69%) Cyber Threat
9 7 (1.69%) Enterprise Cloud
9 7 (1.69%) PKI
10 6 (1.45%) Self-Motivation
11 5 (1.21%) AI Agents
12 4 (0.97%) Data Structures
12 4 (0.97%) Low-Code
12 4 (0.97%) Team-Oriented Environment
13 3 (0.73%) Augmented Reality
Operating Systems
1 58 (14.04%) Windows
2 29 (7.02%) Linux
3 20 (4.84%) Windows Server
4 8 (1.94%) Windows 10
5 7 (1.69%) Unix
6 5 (1.21%) Android
6 5 (1.21%) Mac OS
7 4 (0.97%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 3 (0.73%) Rocky
8 3 (0.73%) 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
1 145 (35.11%) DevOps
2 133 (32.20%) CI/CD
3 125 (30.27%) Agile
4 91 (22.03%) Infrastructure as Code
5 76 (18.40%) Containerisation
6 58 (14.04%) DevSecOps
6 58 (14.04%) Roadmaps
7 57 (13.80%) Continuous Improvement
8 54 (13.08%) Stakeholder Management
9 46 (11.14%) Decision-Making
9 46 (11.14%) Problem-Solving
10 40 (9.69%) Analytics
10 40 (9.69%) Technical Leadership
11 38 (9.20%) Deployment Automation
11 38 (9.20%) Observability
12 37 (8.96%) Platform Engineering
12 37 (8.96%) Software Engineering
13 36 (8.72%) Migration
13 36 (8.72%) Test Automation
14 35 (8.47%) Cybersecurity
Programming Languages
1 83 (20.10%) Python
2 65 (15.74%) SQL
3 42 (10.17%) C#
4 41 (9.93%) PowerShell
5 36 (8.72%) Bash
5 36 (8.72%) Java
6 27 (6.54%) Bicep
6 27 (6.54%) JavaScript
7 24 (5.81%) TypeScript
8 15 (3.63%) Go
9 6 (1.45%) Data Analysis Expressions
10 5 (1.21%) BeanShell
11 4 (0.97%) PL/SQL
11 4 (0.97%) R
12 3 (0.73%) Shell Script
12 3 (0.73%) T-SQL
13 2 (0.48%) C++
14 1 (0.24%) C
14 1 (0.24%) Groovy
14 1 (0.24%) Scala
Qualifications
1 217 (52.54%) Security Cleared
2 151 (36.56%) SC Cleared
3 72 (17.43%) DV Cleared
4 20 (4.84%) Degree
5 17 (4.12%) CISSP
6 16 (3.87%) Azure Certification
7 13 (3.15%) Cisco Certification
8 11 (2.66%) CISM
9 10 (2.42%) Microsoft Certification
10 6 (1.45%) BPSS Clearance
10 6 (1.45%) CCNA
10 6 (1.45%) Computer Science Degree
11 5 (1.21%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 4 (0.97%) AWS Certification
13 3 (0.73%) ITIL Certification
13 3 (0.73%) TOGAF Certification
13 3 (0.73%) VCAP
14 2 (0.48%) CCSK
14 2 (0.48%) DBS Check
14 2 (0.48%) PMI Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 22 (5.33%) Data Quality
2 21 (5.08%) QA
3 18 (4.36%) NCSC
4 14 (3.39%) Accessibility
5 11 (2.66%) SLA
5 11 (2.66%) WCAG
6 6 (1.45%) GDPR
6 6 (1.45%) ISO/IEC 27001
7 5 (1.21%) ISO 9000
7 5 (1.21%) NIST
8 2 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.48%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
8 2 (0.48%) GRC
9 1 (0.24%) Disclosure Scotland
9 1 (0.24%) Government Security Classifications
9 1 (0.24%) HMG Security Policy Framework
9 1 (0.24%) ISO 22301
9 1 (0.24%) JSP 440
9 1 (0.24%) NIST 800
9 1 (0.24%) SNOMED CT
System Software
1 73 (17.68%) Docker
2 55 (13.32%) Active Directory
3 30 (7.26%) VMware Infrastructure
4 20 (4.84%) Hyper-V
5 18 (4.36%) Virtual Desktop
6 11 (2.66%) vSphere
7 10 (2.42%) Virtual Machines
8 7 (1.69%) VMware NSX
9 4 (0.97%) VirtualBox
10 3 (0.73%) VMware ESXi
11 2 (0.48%) KVM
12 1 (0.24%) Microsoft Virtual Server
12 1 (0.24%) NFS
12 1 (0.24%) Virtual Servers
12 1 (0.24%) zsh
Systems Management
1 100 (24.21%) Kubernetes
2 43 (10.41%) Ansible
3 13 (3.15%) Microsoft Intune
4 12 (2.91%) Grafana
5 11 (2.66%) Prometheus
6 9 (2.18%) Argo
7 7 (1.69%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
8 6 (1.45%) FortiGate
8 6 (1.45%) Single Sign-On
9 5 (1.21%) Istio
9 5 (1.21%) OPNET
9 5 (1.21%) VxRail
10 4 (0.97%) Proxmox
11 3 (0.73%) CASB
12 2 (0.48%) Cilium
12 2 (0.48%) Failover Clustering
12 2 (0.48%) Kustomize
12 2 (0.48%) linkerd
12 2 (0.48%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.48%) Podman
Vendors
1 154 (37.29%) Microsoft
2 31 (7.51%) VMware
3 30 (7.26%) Google
4 22 (5.33%) Oracle
5 19 (4.60%) Databricks
6 14 (3.39%) Cisco
7 10 (2.42%) CyberArk
8 8 (1.94%) Splunk
9 6 (1.45%) Dynatrace
9 6 (1.45%) Zscaler
10 5 (1.21%) InterSystems
10 5 (1.21%) MuleSoft
10 5 (1.21%) Red Hat
11 4 (0.97%) Citrix
11 4 (0.97%) Foundry
12 3 (0.73%) Apple
12 3 (0.73%) Meraki
12 3 (0.73%) NetApp
12 3 (0.73%) ServiceNow
12 3 (0.73%) Thales