Data Centre Contracts

Data Center
UK

The table below looks at the prevalence of the term Data Centre in contract job vacancies. Included is a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Data Centre over the 6 months leading up to 31 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
31 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 126 101 88
Rank change year-on-year -25 -13 +22
Contract jobs citing Data Centre 631 914 1,508
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 2.16% 2.13% 2.69%
As % of the Miscellaneous category 6.33% 7.06% 8.06%
Number of daily rates quoted 413 624 1,073
10th Percentile £314 £300 £350
25th Percentile £413 £413 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £500 £529 £550
Median % change year-on-year -5.44% -3.86% +4.76%
75th Percentile £600 £626 £641
90th Percentile £685 £700 £762
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £538 £500
% change year-on-year -11.67% +7.55% +5.26%
Number of hourly rates quoted 19 44 20
10th Percentile - £13.33 £19.60
25th Percentile £24.66 £18.20 £20.22
Median hourly rate £37.50 £24.00 £21.47
Median % change year-on-year +56.25% +11.81% -19.00%
75th Percentile £42.50 £40.00 £24.44
90th Percentile £55.00 £41.25 £70.50
UK excluding London median hourly rate £27.75 £23.25 £21.26
% change year-on-year +19.33% +9.36% -1.12%

All Generic Skills
UK

Data Centre falls under the General and Transferable Skills category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring generic IT skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for generic IT skills 9,968 12,941 18,712
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 34.18% 30.16% 33.35%
Number of daily rates quoted 6,286 8,315 12,886
10th Percentile £300 £270 £313
25th Percentile £407 £413 £450
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £538 £550
Median % change year-on-year -2.42% -2.18% -
75th Percentile £650 £663 £680
90th Percentile £775 £800 £800
UK excluding London median daily rate £475 £500 £500
% change year-on-year -5.00% - +3.09%
Number of hourly rates quoted 407 923 609
10th Percentile £15.84 £12.25 £9.80
25th Percentile £19.97 £15.24 £10.63
Median hourly rate £33.00 £34.21 £22.00
Median % change year-on-year -3.54% +55.50% -18.46%
75th Percentile £63.00 £61.30 £60.63
90th Percentile £82.35 £71.04 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £31.76 £34.07 £21.75
% change year-on-year -6.78% +56.64% +2.35%

Data Centre
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Data Centre as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Data Centre.

Daily rate trend for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Data Centre over the 6 months to 31 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Data Centre.

Hourly rate trend for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Data Centre over the 6 months to 31 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Data Centre in the UK

Data Centre
Top 16 Contract Locations

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Data Centre within the UK over the 6 months to 31 May 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
England -31 516 £520 -2.80% 1,357
UK excluding London -18 336 £475 -11.67% 821
London -3 215 £525 - 612
Work from Home +7 195 £500 -9.09% 464
South East -2 90 £450 -10.00% 267
North of England +9 81 £445 +2.95% 169
Scotland -7 45 £444 -21.46% 51
South West -15 45 £575 -4.17% 100
Yorkshire +14 44 £425 -10.24% 75
Midlands -25 44 £550 -8.33% 120
West Midlands -16 39 £550 -8.33% 57
North West +8 36 £504 +16.47% 77
East of England +25 20 £300 - 97
Wales -3 18 £400 +339.56% 20
East Midlands -1 5 £550 +20.88% 57
North East -6 1 £110 -74.12% 20

Data Centre
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities by Category

The follow tables expand on the table above by listing co-occurrences grouped by category. The same employment type, locality and period is covered with up to 20 co-occurrences shown in each of the following categories:

Application Platforms
1 30 (4.75%) Confluence
2 20 (3.17%) Microsoft Exchange
3 13 (2.06%) SharePoint
4 10 (1.58%) OpenStack
5 3 (0.48%) IBM Notes
6 2 (0.32%) BizTalk Server
6 2 (0.32%) nginx
6 2 (0.32%) ThingWorx
7 1 (0.16%) Apache
7 1 (0.16%) Blackberry Enterprise Server
7 1 (0.16%) IIS
7 1 (0.16%) Mattermost
7 1 (0.16%) Tomcat
Applications
1 22 (3.49%) Microsoft Office
2 12 (1.90%) Microsoft Excel
3 11 (1.74%) MS Visio
4 8 (1.27%) Microsoft Project
5 5 (0.79%) Microsoft PowerPoint
6 4 (0.63%) AutoCAD
6 4 (0.63%) Revit
7 2 (0.32%) Spreadsheet
Business Applications
1 4 (0.63%) Dynamics CRM
2 1 (0.16%) Maximo
2 1 (0.16%) Oracle Payables
2 1 (0.16%) SAP S/4HANA
Cloud Services
1 122 (19.33%) Azure
2 83 (13.15%) AWS
3 32 (5.07%) Microsoft 365
4 23 (3.65%) Entra ID
4 23 (3.65%) GCP
5 17 (2.69%) SaaS
6 16 (2.54%) IaaS
7 15 (2.38%) OpenShift
8 14 (2.22%) PaaS
9 12 (1.90%) OneDrive
10 8 (1.27%) Azure AKS
11 6 (0.95%) Azure DevOps
11 6 (0.95%) Cloud Computing
11 6 (0.95%) GitHub
12 5 (0.79%) Mimecast
12 5 (0.79%) Power Platform
13 4 (0.63%) Virtual Private Cloud
14 2 (0.32%) Amazon S3
14 2 (0.32%) AWS Fargate
14 2 (0.32%) Google Compute Engine
Communications & Networking
1 157 (24.88%) Firewall
2 99 (15.69%) WAN
3 73 (11.57%) VPN
4 69 (10.94%) BGP
5 66 (10.46%) Network Security
6 59 (9.35%) LAN
7 56 (8.87%) OSPF
8 54 (8.56%) Cisco Nexus
9 46 (7.29%) DNS
10 44 (6.97%) Wireless
11 39 (6.18%) SD-WAN
12 36 (5.71%) VXLAN
13 33 (5.23%) Ethernet VPN
14 31 (4.91%) TCP/IP
14 31 (4.91%) Wi-Fi
15 30 (4.75%) DHCP
16 22 (3.49%) Multicast
17 20 (3.17%) SAN
18 19 (3.01%) IPsec
18 19 (3.01%) MPLS
Database & Business Intelligence
1 18 (2.85%) Oracle Database
2 17 (2.69%) SQL Server
3 12 (1.90%) Oracle Reports
4 11 (1.74%) Amazon RDS
5 10 (1.58%) Big Data
6 9 (1.43%) Elasticsearch
7 7 (1.11%) SQL Server Reporting Services
8 6 (0.95%) PostgreSQL
8 6 (0.95%) Relational Database
8 6 (0.95%) SQL Server Integration Services
9 5 (0.79%) MongoDB
9 5 (0.79%) MySQL
10 4 (0.63%) Power BI
11 1 (0.16%) Azure SQL Database
11 1 (0.16%) Data Warehouse
11 1 (0.16%) GIS
11 1 (0.16%) MSDE
11 1 (0.16%) SAP Data Services
Development Applications
1 32 (5.07%) JIRA
2 16 (2.54%) GitLab
3 14 (2.22%) Sonatype Nexus
4 10 (1.58%) Jenkins
5 6 (0.95%) Git
6 3 (0.48%) Bitbucket
6 3 (0.48%) Oracle Forms
6 3 (0.48%) TeamCity
7 1 (0.16%) ScriptRunner
7 1 (0.16%) Selenium
7 1 (0.16%) WebDriver
General
1 151 (23.93%) Social Skills
2 143 (22.66%) Finance
3 76 (12.04%) Analytical Skills
4 43 (6.81%) Banking
5 41 (6.50%) Public Sector
6 27 (4.28%) Telecoms
7 19 (3.01%) Legal
8 17 (2.69%) Retail
9 12 (1.90%) Documentation Skills
9 12 (1.90%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 8 (1.27%) Law
10 8 (1.27%) Manufacturing
10 8 (1.27%) Organisational Skills
11 6 (0.95%) Investment Banking
12 5 (0.79%) Aerospace
13 4 (0.63%) Retail Banking
14 3 (0.48%) Electronics
14 3 (0.48%) Local Government
14 3 (0.48%) Military
14 3 (0.48%) Police
Job Titles
1 119 (18.86%) Network Engineer
2 102 (16.16%) Architect
3 51 (8.08%) Senior
4 48 (7.61%) Consultant
5 43 (6.81%) Project Manager
6 42 (6.66%) Analyst
7 37 (5.86%) Lead
8 33 (5.23%) Data Centre Engineer
9 28 (4.44%) Infrastructure Engineer
10 26 (4.12%) Infrastructure Manager
10 26 (4.12%) Senior Network Engineer
10 26 (4.12%) Solutions Architect
11 22 (3.49%) Infrastructure Architect
11 22 (3.49%) Network Architect
12 21 (3.33%) Data Centre Manager
12 21 (3.33%) Infrastructure Project Manager
13 18 (2.85%) Support Engineer
14 17 (2.69%) SC Cleared Network Engineer
15 16 (2.54%) Network Consultant
15 16 (2.54%) Technical Architect
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 15 (2.38%) 802.1X
2 12 (1.90%) RFC 2544
3 8 (1.27%) Kafka
4 7 (1.11%) .NET
4 7 (1.11%) Middleware
5 5 (0.79%) LDAP
6 4 (0.63%) JSON
7 3 (0.48%) ADO
7 3 (0.48%) REST
7 3 (0.48%) YAML
8 2 (0.32%) XML
9 1 (0.16%) Elastic Stack
9 1 (0.16%) FIX Protocol
9 1 (0.16%) gRPC
9 1 (0.16%) NETCONF
9 1 (0.16%) OAuth
9 1 (0.16%) OpenTelemetry
9 1 (0.16%) PySpark
9 1 (0.16%) RESTful
9 1 (0.16%) TensorFlow
Miscellaneous
1 20 (3.17%) PKI
2 19 (3.01%) Replication
3 18 (2.85%) Data Protection Act
4 17 (2.69%) Management Information System
5 16 (2.54%) SCADA
6 15 (2.38%) CMDB
6 15 (2.38%) Fibre Optics
7 14 (2.22%) Hybrid Cloud
8 13 (2.06%) Public Cloud
9 12 (1.90%) Clustering
10 11 (1.74%) Enterprise Storage
10 11 (1.74%) Linux Command Line
11 10 (1.58%) Cloud Native
11 10 (1.58%) Driving Licence
11 10 (1.58%) Private Cloud
12 9 (1.43%) Onboarding
13 7 (1.11%) Legacy Systems
13 7 (1.11%) Mainframe
14 6 (0.95%) Enterprise Software
14 6 (0.95%) Legacy Applications
Operating Systems
1 112 (17.75%) Windows
2 96 (15.21%) Linux
3 43 (6.81%) Windows Server
4 26 (4.12%) Unix
5 25 (3.96%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
6 10 (1.58%) CentOS
6 10 (1.58%) Windows Server 2019
7 8 (1.27%) HPUX
7 8 (1.27%) Solaris
7 8 (1.27%) Ubuntu
8 7 (1.11%) Mac OS
8 7 (1.11%) Windows 10
8 7 (1.11%) Windows Server 2016
9 6 (0.95%) Android
10 4 (0.63%) Windows Server 2003
10 4 (0.63%) Windows Server 2012
11 2 (0.32%) zOS
12 1 (0.16%) Windows 7
Processes & Methodologies
1 153 (24.25%) Migration
2 98 (15.53%) Problem-Solving
3 60 (9.51%) Agile
3 60 (9.51%) Project Management
4 55 (8.72%) Disaster Recovery
5 51 (8.08%) Stakeholder Management
6 49 (7.77%) DevOps
7 47 (7.45%) Network Design
8 46 (7.29%) Infrastructure Engineering
9 44 (6.97%) Change Management
10 43 (6.81%) Roadmaps
11 40 (6.34%) High Availability
11 40 (6.34%) Stakeholder Engagement
12 39 (6.18%) ITIL
13 34 (5.39%) Network Architecture
14 33 (5.23%) Customer Service
14 33 (5.23%) Project Delivery
15 31 (4.91%) Network Management
15 31 (4.91%) Risk Management
16 29 (4.60%) Load Balancing
Programming Languages
1 60 (9.51%) Python
2 29 (4.60%) PowerShell
3 20 (3.17%) SQL
4 11 (1.74%) Bash
5 7 (1.11%) Shell Script
6 5 (0.79%) Java
7 4 (0.63%) Go
7 4 (0.63%) Perl
7 4 (0.63%) Tcl
8 3 (0.48%) SystemVerilog
9 2 (0.32%) JCL
9 2 (0.32%) REXX
10 1 (0.16%) Bicep
10 1 (0.16%) C
10 1 (0.16%) C#
10 1 (0.16%) Groovy
10 1 (0.16%) PHP
10 1 (0.16%) Ruby
10 1 (0.16%) T-SQL
Qualifications
1 177 (28.05%) Security Cleared
2 127 (20.13%) SC Cleared
3 72 (11.41%) Cisco Certification
4 54 (8.56%) Degree
5 46 (7.29%) CCNP
6 45 (7.13%) DV Cleared
7 22 (3.49%) CCIE
8 13 (2.06%) AWS Certification
8 13 (2.06%) Azure Certification
9 12 (1.90%) CISSP
10 11 (1.74%) CCNA
11 9 (1.43%) Microsoft Certification
11 9 (1.43%) PMI Certification
11 9 (1.43%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
12 8 (1.27%) BPSS Clearance
12 8 (1.27%) PMP
12 8 (1.27%) TOGAF Certification
13 7 (1.11%) CISA
14 6 (0.95%) CCIE Data Center
14 6 (0.95%) Network+ Certification
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 23 (3.65%) QA
2 15 (2.38%) SLA
3 12 (1.90%) ISO/IEC 27001
4 10 (1.58%) NIST
5 9 (1.43%) PCI DSS
5 9 (1.43%) PMO
6 8 (1.27%) JSP 440
6 8 (1.27%) RMADS
7 5 (0.79%) GDPR
8 3 (0.48%) Disclosure Scotland
9 2 (0.32%) Accessibility
9 2 (0.32%) GRC
9 2 (0.32%) GxP
9 2 (0.32%) ISO 14001
10 1 (0.16%) Actionable Recommendations
10 1 (0.16%) COBIT
10 1 (0.16%) Data Quality
10 1 (0.16%) HIPAA
10 1 (0.16%) ISO 9001
10 1 (0.16%) NIST 800
System Software
1 76 (12.04%) VMware Infrastructure
2 58 (9.19%) Active Directory
3 27 (4.28%) Docker
4 22 (3.49%) VMware ESXi
5 21 (3.33%) Hyper-V
6 18 (2.85%) vSphere
7 16 (2.54%) VMware NSX
8 12 (1.90%) Microsoft App-V
9 11 (1.74%) Virtual Machines
10 9 (1.43%) BitLocker
10 9 (1.43%) Terminal Services
11 7 (1.11%) Virtual Servers
12 4 (0.63%) Firmware
12 4 (0.63%) KVM
12 4 (0.63%) NFS
13 2 (0.32%) Oracle RAC
13 2 (0.32%) Time Sharing Option
13 2 (0.32%) Virtual Desktop
14 1 (0.16%) Microcode
14 1 (0.16%) SRDF
Systems Management
1 63 (9.98%) Ansible
2 37 (5.86%) Kubernetes
3 32 (5.07%) Terraform
4 20 (3.17%) vCenter Server
5 15 (2.38%) Puppet
6 14 (2.22%) Oracle RMAN
7 13 (2.06%) FortiGate
7 13 (2.06%) Microsoft Intune
8 9 (1.43%) Nagios
8 9 (1.43%) vMotion
9 8 (1.27%) Progress Chef
10 6 (0.95%) SCCM
10 6 (0.95%) Single Sign-On
10 6 (0.95%) VxRail
11 5 (0.79%) Grafana
11 5 (0.79%) Jamf Pro
11 5 (0.79%) WSUS
12 4 (0.63%) NetBackup
12 4 (0.63%) Podman
12 4 (0.63%) vRealize Orchestrator
Vendors
1 165 (26.15%) Cisco
2 103 (16.32%) VMware
3 76 (12.04%) Microsoft
4 68 (10.78%) Palo Alto
5 48 (7.61%) HP
6 46 (7.29%) Dell
7 42 (6.66%) ServiceNow
8 32 (5.07%) F5
9 31 (4.91%) Arista
9 31 (4.91%) Oracle
10 29 (4.60%) Fortinet
11 28 (4.44%) IBM
12 27 (4.28%) Red Hat
13 23 (3.65%) Juniper
13 23 (3.65%) Meraki
14 20 (3.17%) CheckPoint
14 20 (3.17%) Citrix
14 20 (3.17%) SolarWinds
15 15 (2.38%) Commvault
16 13 (2.06%) Google