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 18 December 2025, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

6 months to
18 Dec 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 8 13 7
Rank change year-on-year +5 -6 +1
Contract jobs citing Azure 309 216 396
As % of all contract jobs in the South West 13.34% 10.23% 13.30%
As % of the Cloud Services category 46.26% 34.73% 45.41%
Number of daily rates quoted 249 163 317
10th Percentile £324 £400 £322
25th Percentile £433 £425 £463
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £523 £510 £550
Median % change year-on-year +2.55% -7.27% -
75th Percentile £644 £617 £675
90th Percentile £700 £748 £722
England median daily rate £520 £525 £550
% change year-on-year -0.95% -4.55% -3.51%
Number of hourly rates quoted 3 1 1
10th Percentile £67.45 - -
25th Percentile £76.38 £77.50 £14.93
Median hourly rate £92.50 £85.00 £15.35
Median % change year-on-year +8.82% +453.75% -78.07%
75th Percentile £93.75 £92.50 £15.78
90th Percentile - - -
England median hourly rate £45.73 £35.00 £46.18
% change year-on-year +30.66% -24.21% -10.76%

All Cloud 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 668 622 872
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South West 28.83% 29.45% 29.29%
Number of daily rates quoted 486 415 677
10th Percentile £259 £250 £229
25th Percentile £405 £425 £413
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £525 £550
Median % change year-on-year -4.76% -4.55% +4.76%
75th Percentile £600 £638 £638
90th Percentile £700 £730 £700
England median daily rate £500 £536 £525
% change year-on-year -6.76% +2.14% -4.55%
Number of hourly rates quoted 21 13 33
10th Percentile - £13.10 £14.27
25th Percentile £18.87 £19.83 £14.93
Median hourly rate £22.50 £27.13 £21.00
Median % change year-on-year -17.05% +29.17% -63.64%
75th Percentile £36.00 £68.75 £33.00
90th Percentile £70.71 £70.00 £78.00
England median hourly rate £26.50 £30.00 £23.24
% change year-on-year -11.67% +29.09% +3.29%

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 18 December 2025.

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 18 December 2025.

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 18 December 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
Gloucestershire +7 118 £475 -5.00% 30
Bristol -6 67 £511 -2.71% 90
Wiltshire +16 49 £550 +2.33% 38
Somerset +6 42 £525 -10.64% 29
Dorset +2 12 £500 -6.98% 20
Devon -2 9 £575 +39.39% 17
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 24 (7.77%) SharePoint
2 16 (5.18%) Microsoft Exchange
3 4 (1.29%) Confluence
4 3 (0.97%) Apache
4 3 (0.97%) Apache Spark
5 2 (0.65%) Documentum
5 2 (0.65%) nginx
6 1 (0.32%) Anypoint
6 1 (0.32%) Apache Airflow
6 1 (0.32%) CMS
6 1 (0.32%) IIS
6 1 (0.32%) Sitecore CMS
Applications
1 4 (1.29%) Microsoft Excel
2 2 (0.65%) Microsoft Project
2 2 (0.65%) Windchill
3 1 (0.32%) Microsoft Office
Business Applications
1 6 (1.94%) NEC Housing
2 3 (0.97%) Maximo
2 3 (0.97%) NetSuite
3 2 (0.65%) Primavera
3 2 (0.65%) Teamcenter
4 1 (0.32%) Dynamics CRM
4 1 (0.32%) Oracle Applications
4 1 (0.32%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 104 (33.66%) AWS
2 79 (25.57%) Azure DevOps
3 49 (15.86%) Entra ID
4 48 (15.53%) GitHub
5 47 (15.21%) GCP
6 39 (12.62%) Microsoft 365
7 19 (6.15%) Azure Sentinel
8 17 (5.50%) Power Platform
9 15 (4.85%) Azure Data Factory
10 13 (4.21%) Serverless
11 12 (3.88%) GitHub Actions
12 11 (3.56%) Azure Key Vault
12 11 (3.56%) Power Automate
13 10 (3.24%) Azure Monitor
13 10 (3.24%) OpenShift
14 8 (2.59%) Azure AKS
14 8 (2.59%) Dynamics 365
15 7 (2.27%) Azure Stack
15 7 (2.27%) OneDrive
16 6 (1.94%) PowerApps
Communications & Networking
1 21 (6.80%) VPN
2 18 (5.83%) Firewall
3 10 (3.24%) Network Security
4 7 (2.27%) DHCP
4 7 (2.27%) DNS
4 7 (2.27%) HTTP
4 7 (2.27%) WAN
5 5 (1.62%) SD-WAN
6 4 (1.29%) LAN
7 3 (0.97%) Kerberos
7 3 (0.97%) TCP/IP
7 3 (0.97%) VLAN
8 2 (0.65%) SMTP
9 1 (0.32%) 2G
9 1 (0.32%) BGP
9 1 (0.32%) Intrusion Detection
9 1 (0.32%) OSPF
9 1 (0.32%) SAN
9 1 (0.32%) Wireless
9 1 (0.32%) WLAN
Database & Business Intelligence
1 25 (8.09%) PostgreSQL
2 17 (5.50%) Elasticsearch
3 13 (4.21%) Power BI
4 10 (3.24%) SQL Server
5 7 (2.27%) Redis
6 6 (1.94%) Metadata
6 6 (1.94%) Relational Database
7 4 (1.29%) Data Lake
7 4 (1.29%) Data Warehouse
7 4 (1.29%) MongoDB
7 4 (1.29%) MySQL
7 4 (1.29%) Oracle Database
8 3 (0.97%) NoSQL
8 3 (0.97%) Tableau
9 2 (0.65%) Amazon RDS
9 2 (0.65%) Big Data
9 2 (0.65%) ClickHouse
9 2 (0.65%) Looker
9 2 (0.65%) Oracle Database 12c
10 1 (0.32%) Geospatial Data
Development Applications
1 31 (10.03%) Oracle APEX
2 23 (7.44%) Git
3 21 (6.80%) JIRA
4 16 (5.18%) SonarQube
5 11 (3.56%) Jenkins
6 8 (2.59%) GitLab
7 2 (0.65%) Bitbucket
7 2 (0.65%) Sonatype Nexus
8 1 (0.32%) Artifactory
8 1 (0.32%) CircleCI
8 1 (0.32%) CMake
8 1 (0.32%) Cucumber
8 1 (0.32%) GoogleTest
8 1 (0.32%) Maven
8 1 (0.32%) Mocha
8 1 (0.32%) Postman
8 1 (0.32%) REST Assured
8 1 (0.32%) Snyk
8 1 (0.32%) SoapUI
8 1 (0.32%) TestNG
General
1 112 (36.25%) Social Skills
2 35 (11.33%) Public Sector
3 31 (10.03%) Finance
4 14 (4.53%) Analytical Skills
5 12 (3.88%) Documentation Skills
6 11 (3.56%) Telecoms
7 6 (1.94%) Manufacturing
8 5 (1.62%) Military
9 4 (1.29%) Back Office
9 4 (1.29%) Electronics
9 4 (1.29%) Marketing
10 3 (0.97%) Aerospace
10 3 (0.97%) Banking
11 2 (0.65%) Inclusion and Diversity
11 2 (0.65%) Influencing Skills
11 2 (0.65%) Law
11 2 (0.65%) Local Government
11 2 (0.65%) Tech for Good
12 1 (0.32%) Presentation Skills
12 1 (0.32%) Social Housing
Job Titles
1 73 (23.62%) Developer
2 66 (21.36%) Senior
3 36 (11.65%) Architect
4 32 (10.36%) Senior Developer
5 28 (9.06%) Infrastructure Engineer
6 23 (7.44%) Data Engineer
7 20 (6.47%) Analyst
8 18 (5.83%) Azure Engineer
9 14 (4.53%) Senior Data Engineer
10 13 (4.21%) DevSecOps Engineer
11 12 (3.88%) Support Engineer
12 11 (3.56%) Cloud Engineer
12 11 (3.56%) Desktop Engineer
13 10 (3.24%) Azure Infrastructure Engineer
13 10 (3.24%) Consultant
13 10 (3.24%) Desktop Support
13 10 (3.24%) Desktop Support Engineer
13 10 (3.24%) DevOps Engineer
13 10 (3.24%) Lead
14 9 (2.91%) Backend Developer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 18 (5.83%) REST
2 16 (5.18%) Kafka
2 16 (5.18%) React
3 15 (4.85%) SOAP
3 15 (4.85%) YAML
4 14 (4.53%) ARM Templates
5 13 (4.21%) OAuth
6 12 (3.88%) AngularJS
6 12 (3.88%) Keycloak
7 11 (3.56%) Node.js
8 10 (3.24%) .NET
8 10 (3.24%) OAuth2
8 10 (3.24%) SAML
8 10 (3.24%) XML
9 9 (2.91%) Elastic Stack
9 9 (2.91%) OpenID
10 8 (2.59%) RESTful
11 7 (2.27%) Flask
11 7 (2.27%) HTML
11 7 (2.27%) WebSockets
Miscellaneous
1 35 (11.33%) Hybrid Cloud
2 32 (10.36%) Cloud Native
3 14 (4.53%) Data Centre
4 13 (4.21%) Product Ownership
5 9 (2.91%) Onboarding
6 7 (2.27%) Security Posture
7 5 (1.62%) Enterprise Software
7 5 (1.62%) IoT
8 4 (1.29%) CMDB
8 4 (1.29%) Cyber Defence
8 4 (1.29%) FMCG
8 4 (1.29%) Legacy Systems
8 4 (1.29%) Management Information System
9 3 (0.97%) Enterprise Cloud
9 3 (0.97%) iPad
9 3 (0.97%) iPhone
9 3 (0.97%) Self-Motivation
9 3 (0.97%) Virtual Team
10 2 (0.65%) Data Protection Act
10 2 (0.65%) Wiki
Operating Systems
1 52 (16.83%) Windows
2 21 (6.80%) Windows Server
3 20 (6.47%) Linux
4 11 (3.56%) Windows 10
5 6 (1.94%) Apple iOS
6 4 (1.29%) Android
6 4 (1.29%) Unix
6 4 (1.29%) Windows Server 2016
7 3 (0.97%) Mac OS
7 3 (0.97%) Windows Server 2019
8 2 (0.65%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
9 1 (0.32%) Robot Operating System
9 1 (0.32%) Windows Server 2012
Processes & Methodologies
1 137 (44.34%) DevOps
2 97 (31.39%) Agile
3 65 (21.04%) CI/CD
4 54 (17.48%) Scrum
5 46 (14.89%) Problem-Solving
6 45 (14.56%) Infrastructure as Code
7 44 (14.24%) Containerisation
8 41 (13.27%) Validation
9 32 (10.36%) Collaborative Working
9 32 (10.36%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 32 (10.36%) Stakeholder Engagement
10 28 (9.06%) ITIL
10 28 (9.06%) Migration
10 28 (9.06%) Software Delivery
11 27 (8.74%) Requirements Analysis
11 27 (8.74%) Web Application Development
12 26 (8.41%) Stakeholder Management
13 25 (8.09%) Test Automation
14 24 (7.77%) DevSecOps
15 21 (6.80%) Knowledge Transfer
Programming Languages
1 71 (22.98%) SQL
2 65 (21.04%) Python
3 50 (16.18%) JavaScript
4 44 (14.24%) PowerShell
5 39 (12.62%) PL/SQL
6 21 (6.80%) Go
7 17 (5.50%) Bicep
8 16 (5.18%) TypeScript
9 14 (4.53%) Bash
10 13 (4.21%) Java
11 8 (2.59%) C#
12 3 (0.97%) Ruby
13 2 (0.65%) C
13 2 (0.65%) C++
14 1 (0.32%) Apex Code
14 1 (0.32%) Data Analysis Expressions
14 1 (0.32%) Shell Script
14 1 (0.32%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 178 (57.61%) Security Cleared
2 164 (53.07%) SC Cleared
3 39 (12.62%) Azure Certification
4 34 (11.00%) DV Cleared
5 11 (3.56%) Degree
6 10 (3.24%) AWS Certification
6 10 (3.24%) Microsoft Certification
7 9 (2.91%) CISSP
8 7 (2.27%) CISM
9 6 (1.94%) Network+ Certification
10 4 (1.29%) AWS Certified DevOps Engineer
10 4 (1.29%) Computer Science Degree
11 3 (0.97%) BPSS Clearance
11 3 (0.97%) ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
11 3 (0.97%) ITIL Certification
12 2 (0.65%) Cisco Certification
12 2 (0.65%) CompTIA Security+
12 2 (0.65%) OCA
12 2 (0.65%) OCP
12 2 (0.65%) Oracle Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 24 (7.77%) ISO/IEC 27001
2 22 (7.12%) NCSC
3 18 (5.83%) NIST
4 17 (5.50%) GDPR
5 12 (3.88%) QA
6 4 (1.29%) Sarbanes-Oxley
7 3 (0.97%) Data Quality
7 3 (0.97%) Government Security Classifications
7 3 (0.97%) JSP 440
7 3 (0.97%) NIST 800
7 3 (0.97%) PSD2
8 2 (0.65%) Cyber Essentials
8 2 (0.65%) GRC
8 2 (0.65%) SOC 2
9 1 (0.32%) Accessibility
9 1 (0.32%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
9 1 (0.32%) PCI DSS
9 1 (0.32%) SLA
9 1 (0.32%) WCAG
System Software
1 63 (20.39%) Active Directory
2 52 (16.83%) Docker
3 11 (3.56%) Hyper-V
4 8 (2.59%) Virtual Desktop
4 8 (2.59%) VMware Infrastructure
5 7 (2.27%) Virtual Machines
6 2 (0.65%) Oracle RAC
7 1 (0.32%) KVM
7 1 (0.32%) Slurm Workload Manager
7 1 (0.32%) VMware NSX
7 1 (0.32%) vSphere
Systems Management
1 54 (17.48%) Kubernetes
2 51 (16.50%) Terraform
3 25 (8.09%) Microsoft Intune
4 17 (5.50%) Single Sign-On
5 15 (4.85%) Grafana
6 14 (4.53%) Ansible
6 14 (4.53%) Prometheus
7 12 (3.88%) SCCM
8 6 (1.94%) Active Directory Federation Services
9 5 (1.62%) Kibana
10 4 (1.29%) Puppet
11 3 (0.97%) Argo
11 3 (0.97%) logstash
12 2 (0.65%) Data Guard
12 2 (0.65%) FortiGate
12 2 (0.65%) Oracle RMAN
12 2 (0.65%) PingFederate
12 2 (0.65%) Podman
13 1 (0.32%) CA Single Sign-On
13 1 (0.32%) WSUS
Vendors
1 107 (34.63%) Microsoft
2 47 (15.21%) Oracle
3 14 (4.53%) ServiceNow
4 13 (4.21%) Databricks
5 11 (3.56%) Google
5 11 (3.56%) VMware
6 8 (2.59%) Salesforce
7 7 (2.27%) NetApp
7 7 (2.27%) Red Hat
8 6 (1.94%) Blue Prism
8 6 (1.94%) NEC
8 6 (1.94%) SAP
9 5 (1.62%) Cisco
9 5 (1.62%) ForgeRock
9 5 (1.62%) Ping Identity
10 4 (1.29%) MuleSoft
10 4 (1.29%) Okta
10 4 (1.29%) Splunk
10 4 (1.29%) Starlink
11 3 (0.97%) IBM