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 28 August 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
28 Aug 2026
Same period 2025 Same period 2024
Rank 5 11 11
Rank change year-on-year +6 0 -3
Contract jobs citing Azure 427 219 300
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 11.67% 11.41% 10.97%
As % of the Cloud Services category 43.88% 38.35% 41.10%
Number of daily rates quoted 297 166 226
10th Percentile £400 £317 £338
25th Percentile £450 £378 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £540 £500 £503
Median % change year-on-year +8.00% -0.50% -8.64%
75th Percentile £638 £634 £590
90th Percentile £738 £700 £675
England median daily rate £525 £525 £530
% change year-on-year - -0.94% -3.64%
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% +41.67%
75th Percentile £98.13 £77.80 £92.50
90th Percentile £99.25 £78.34 -
England median hourly rate £52.50 £37.50 £35.00
% change year-on-year +40.00% +7.14% -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 973 571 730
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 26.60% 29.74% 26.70%
Number of daily rates quoted 633 392 509
10th Percentile £325 £213 £250
25th Percentile £425 £350 £425
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £475 £525
Median % change year-on-year +10.53% -9.52% -4.55%
75th Percentile £638 £588 £600
90th Percentile £730 £675 £675
England median daily rate £525 £505 £525
% change year-on-year +3.96% -3.81% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 60 38 46
10th Percentile £13.97 £18.13 £12.63
25th Percentile £15.24 £18.51 £30.75
Median hourly rate £18.50 £18.87 £70.00
Median % change year-on-year -1.96% -73.04% +76.99%
75th Percentile £45.26 £34.50 -
90th Percentile £98.82 £37.50 -
England median hourly rate £34.38 £26.30 £28.25
% change year-on-year +30.70% -6.90% -14.39%

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 28 August 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 28 August 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
Somerset +4 112 £475 - 41
Bristol 0 111 £550 +25.71% 171
Devon +8 57 £530 +1.92% 53
Gloucestershire -3 53 £525 +5.00% 157
Wiltshire -4 39 £500 -16.67% 30
Dorset +4 29 £675 +63.64% 31
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 29 (6.79%) Confluence
2 27 (6.32%) SharePoint
3 10 (2.34%) IIS
4 9 (2.11%) Apache Spark
5 5 (1.17%) Apache
6 4 (0.94%) Microsoft Exchange
7 3 (0.70%) Apache Airflow
8 2 (0.47%) nginx
9 1 (0.23%) Apache Superset
9 1 (0.23%) ColdFusion
9 1 (0.23%) JBoss
9 1 (0.23%) Oracle Coherence
9 1 (0.23%) Palantir Foundry
Applications
1 5 (1.17%) MS Visio
2 3 (0.70%) Microsoft Excel
2 3 (0.70%) Microsoft Office
2 3 (0.70%) Trello
3 1 (0.23%) Microsoft PowerPoint
3 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Project
3 1 (0.23%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 2 (0.47%) Unit4 Business World
2 1 (0.23%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.23%) Maximo
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
1 188 (44.03%) AWS
2 73 (17.10%) GCP
3 72 (16.86%) Azure DevOps
4 57 (13.35%) Entra ID
5 36 (8.43%) Microsoft 365
6 33 (7.73%) GitHub
7 26 (6.09%) Power Platform
8 17 (3.98%) Azure Key Vault
8 17 (3.98%) Serverless
9 16 (3.75%) Azure Monitor
10 15 (3.51%) GitHub Actions
11 11 (2.58%) Azure Data Factory
11 11 (2.58%) Cloud Computing
12 10 (2.34%) PaaS
12 10 (2.34%) SaaS
13 9 (2.11%) Azure AKS
13 9 (2.11%) Azure ExpressRoute
13 9 (2.11%) Azure Sentinel
13 9 (2.11%) Azure Synapse Analytics
13 9 (2.11%) Google Kubernetes Engine
Communications & Networking
1 31 (7.26%) Firewall
2 21 (4.92%) DNS
3 15 (3.51%) TCP/IP
3 15 (3.51%) VPN
4 12 (2.81%) DHCP
4 12 (2.81%) WAN
5 9 (2.11%) BGP
5 9 (2.11%) VLAN
6 8 (1.87%) VSAN
7 5 (1.17%) Network Security
8 4 (0.94%) OSPF
8 4 (0.94%) SAN
9 3 (0.70%) Intrusion Detection
9 3 (0.70%) NAS
9 3 (0.70%) Software-Defined Networking
10 2 (0.47%) LAN
10 2 (0.47%) Reverse Proxy
10 2 (0.47%) SSL
11 1 (0.23%) Kerberos
11 1 (0.23%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 30 (7.03%) SQL Server
2 22 (5.15%) Power BI
3 14 (3.28%) PostgreSQL
4 13 (3.04%) Geospatial Data
5 11 (2.58%) Data Warehouse
6 9 (2.11%) Data Lake
7 8 (1.87%) Oracle Database
8 7 (1.64%) Azure SQL Database
8 7 (1.64%) Elasticsearch
8 7 (1.64%) Metadata
8 7 (1.64%) MongoDB
9 6 (1.41%) Amazon RDS
9 6 (1.41%) NoSQL
10 5 (1.17%) Big Data
10 5 (1.17%) SQL Server Integration Services
11 4 (0.94%) Relational Database
11 4 (0.94%) Tableau
12 3 (0.70%) Data Vault
12 3 (0.70%) Delta Lake
12 3 (0.70%) EDRMS
Development Applications
1 43 (10.07%) Git
2 40 (9.37%) JIRA
3 29 (6.79%) GitLab
4 25 (5.85%) Jenkins
5 11 (2.58%) MSI
6 3 (0.70%) AdminStudio
6 3 (0.70%) InstallShield
6 3 (0.70%) JUnit
6 3 (0.70%) SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)
6 3 (0.70%) Visual Studio Code
7 2 (0.47%) Claude Code
7 2 (0.47%) MLflow
7 2 (0.47%) Selenium
7 2 (0.47%) Spinnaker
8 1 (0.23%) Bitbucket
8 1 (0.23%) Cucumber
8 1 (0.23%) Gradle
8 1 (0.23%) TestNG
8 1 (0.23%) Visual Studio
8 1 (0.23%) WebDriver
General
1 82 (19.20%) Social Skills
2 60 (14.05%) Public Sector
3 29 (6.79%) Analytical Skills
4 26 (6.09%) Finance
5 12 (2.81%) Legal
5 12 (2.81%) Local Government
6 10 (2.34%) Military
7 8 (1.87%) Documentation Skills
7 8 (1.87%) Inclusion and Diversity
8 6 (1.41%) Banking
8 6 (1.41%) Organisational Skills
9 5 (1.17%) Retail
10 4 (0.94%) Police
11 3 (0.70%) Advertising
11 3 (0.70%) Aviation
11 3 (0.70%) Investment Banking
12 2 (0.47%) Marketing
13 1 (0.23%) Aerospace
13 1 (0.23%) Manufacturing
13 1 (0.23%) Publishing
Job Titles
1 67 (15.69%) Architect
2 55 (12.88%) Developer
3 32 (7.49%) Lead
4 31 (7.26%) Senior
5 27 (6.32%) Product Manager
6 26 (6.09%) Consultant
7 24 (5.62%) Digital Product Manager
8 22 (5.15%) DevOps Engineer
9 20 (4.68%) Technical Architect
10 19 (4.45%) Data Engineer
11 18 (4.22%) Azure Engineer
11 18 (4.22%) Solutions Architect
12 16 (3.75%) Azure Architect
13 15 (3.51%) Infrastructure Engineer
14 14 (3.28%) Analyst
15 13 (3.04%) .NET Developer
15 13 (3.04%) Azure Consultant
15 13 (3.04%) Data Architect
15 13 (3.04%) DBA
15 13 (3.04%) Site Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 88 (20.61%) Terraform
2 47 (11.01%) .NET
3 31 (7.26%) .NET Framework
4 26 (6.09%) REST
5 21 (4.92%) RESTful
6 19 (4.45%) React
7 18 (4.22%) .NET Core
8 17 (3.98%) CSS
8 17 (3.98%) HTML
9 13 (3.04%) GeoJSON
10 12 (2.81%) Kafka
11 11 (2.58%) ATL
11 11 (2.58%) COM
11 11 (2.58%) CSS3
11 11 (2.58%) HTML5
11 11 (2.58%) MFC
11 11 (2.58%) SailPoint
11 11 (2.58%) WPF
12 10 (2.34%) Node.js
12 10 (2.34%) Spring Boot
Miscellaneous
1 57 (13.35%) Cloud Native
2 41 (9.60%) Legacy Systems
3 26 (6.09%) Onboarding
4 24 (5.62%) Product Ownership
5 19 (4.45%) Enterprise Software
6 12 (2.81%) Data Centre
6 12 (2.81%) Hybrid Cloud
6 12 (2.81%) Public Cloud
7 11 (2.58%) Linux Command Line
8 10 (2.34%) Self-Motivation
8 10 (2.34%) Wiki
9 9 (2.11%) Data Structures
10 8 (1.87%) Security Operations Centre
11 6 (1.41%) Cyber Threat
11 6 (1.41%) Legacy Code
11 6 (1.41%) PKI
12 5 (1.17%) Enterprise Cloud
13 4 (0.94%) Augmented Reality
13 4 (0.94%) Team-Oriented Environment
13 4 (0.94%) Virtual Reality
Operating Systems
1 76 (17.80%) Windows
2 34 (7.96%) Linux
3 27 (6.32%) Windows Server
4 18 (4.22%) Windows 10
5 8 (1.87%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 6 (1.41%) Android
7 5 (1.17%) Unix
8 4 (0.94%) Rocky
8 4 (0.94%) Ubuntu
9 3 (0.70%) Debian
9 3 (0.70%) Mac OS
10 2 (0.47%) Apple iOS
10 2 (0.47%) Windows Server 2019
11 1 (0.23%) CentOS
11 1 (0.23%) SUSE
Processes & Methodologies
1 139 (32.55%) DevOps
2 135 (31.62%) Agile
3 129 (30.21%) CI/CD
4 87 (20.37%) Infrastructure as Code
5 67 (15.69%) Containerisation
6 59 (13.82%) Roadmaps
7 57 (13.35%) Continuous Improvement
8 56 (13.11%) Stakeholder Management
9 54 (12.65%) Problem-Solving
10 45 (10.54%) DevSecOps
11 43 (10.07%) Technical Leadership
12 41 (9.60%) Microservices
13 39 (9.13%) Decision-Making
13 39 (9.13%) Test Automation
14 38 (8.90%) Analytics
14 38 (8.90%) Migration
15 36 (8.43%) Data Modelling
15 36 (8.43%) Software Engineering
16 35 (8.20%) Deployment Automation
16 35 (8.20%) ITIL
Programming Languages
1 79 (18.50%) Python
2 63 (14.75%) SQL
3 40 (9.37%) PowerShell
4 39 (9.13%) C#
5 35 (8.20%) Java
6 31 (7.26%) Bash
7 28 (6.56%) JavaScript
8 25 (5.85%) TypeScript
9 20 (4.68%) Bicep
10 14 (3.28%) Go
11 5 (1.17%) BeanShell
12 4 (0.94%) PL/SQL
12 4 (0.94%) R
12 4 (0.94%) Shell Script
13 3 (0.70%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 3 (0.70%) T-SQL
14 2 (0.47%) C++
14 2 (0.47%) Kotlin
15 1 (0.23%) Kusto Query Language
15 1 (0.23%) Rust
Qualifications
1 225 (52.69%) Security Cleared
2 166 (38.88%) SC Cleared
3 55 (12.88%) DV Cleared
4 22 (5.15%) Degree
5 15 (3.51%) CISSP
6 14 (3.28%) Microsoft Certification
7 13 (3.04%) Azure Certification
8 12 (2.81%) Cisco Certification
9 10 (2.34%) CISM
10 8 (1.87%) BPSS Clearance
10 8 (1.87%) Computer Science Degree
11 6 (1.41%) CCNA
12 5 (1.17%) (ISC)2 CCSP
12 5 (1.17%) TOGAF Certification
13 4 (0.94%) ITIL Certification
14 3 (0.70%) ACSP
14 3 (0.70%) AWS Certification
14 3 (0.70%) ISTQB
14 3 (0.70%) VCAP
15 2 (0.47%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (5.39%) QA
2 20 (4.68%) NCSC
3 19 (4.45%) Data Quality
4 13 (3.04%) Accessibility
5 11 (2.58%) SLA
5 11 (2.58%) WCAG
6 9 (2.11%) GDPR
7 6 (1.41%) ISO/IEC 27001
8 5 (1.17%) ISO 9000
8 5 (1.17%) NIST
9 3 (0.70%) SNOMED CT
10 2 (0.47%) Cyber Essentials
10 2 (0.47%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
10 2 (0.47%) GRC
10 2 (0.47%) HL7
11 1 (0.23%) Government Security Classifications
11 1 (0.23%) HMG Security Policy Framework
11 1 (0.23%) ISO 22301
11 1 (0.23%) NIST 800
11 1 (0.23%) PMO
System Software
1 68 (15.93%) Docker
2 61 (14.29%) Active Directory
3 26 (6.09%) VMware Infrastructure
4 18 (4.22%) Hyper-V
5 17 (3.98%) Virtual Desktop
6 11 (2.58%) Virtual Machines
7 10 (2.34%) vSphere
8 7 (1.64%) VMware NSX
9 3 (0.70%) VirtualBox
10 2 (0.47%) KVM
11 1 (0.23%) Microsoft Virtual Server
11 1 (0.23%) NFS
11 1 (0.23%) Virtual Servers
11 1 (0.23%) VMware ESXi
11 1 (0.23%) zsh
Systems Management
1 93 (21.78%) Kubernetes
2 39 (9.13%) Ansible
3 24 (5.62%) Microsoft Intune
4 16 (3.75%) Grafana
5 14 (3.28%) Prometheus
6 13 (3.04%) Argo
7 7 (1.64%) Oracle Enterprise Manager
7 7 (1.64%) Single Sign-On
8 6 (1.41%) FortiGate
9 5 (1.17%) OPNET
9 5 (1.17%) VxRail
10 4 (0.94%) Istio
10 4 (0.94%) Proxmox
10 4 (0.94%) SCCM
11 3 (0.70%) Progress Chef
12 2 (0.47%) CASB
12 2 (0.47%) Data Guard
12 2 (0.47%) Kustomize
12 2 (0.47%) linkerd
12 2 (0.47%) Oracle RMAN
Vendors
1 162 (37.94%) Microsoft
2 27 (6.32%) VMware
3 22 (5.15%) Oracle
4 21 (4.92%) Databricks
4 21 (4.92%) Google
5 11 (2.58%) CyberArk
6 8 (1.87%) Cisco
6 8 (1.87%) Red Hat
6 8 (1.87%) Starlink
7 7 (1.64%) InterSystems
7 7 (1.64%) McAfee
7 7 (1.64%) Splunk
8 6 (1.41%) Dynatrace
8 6 (1.41%) MuleSoft
9 5 (1.17%) NetApp
9 5 (1.17%) Zscaler
10 4 (0.94%) Apple
10 4 (0.94%) SAP
11 3 (0.70%) Foundry
11 3 (0.70%) IBM