Windows Server Contracts

Microsoft Windows Server
UK

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies requiring Windows Server skills. It includes a benchmarking guide to the contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Windows Server over the 6 months leading up to 16 May 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

6 months to
16 May 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 137 98 82
Rank change year-on-year -39 -16 +37
Contract jobs citing Windows Server 610 969 1,634
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the UK 2.09% 2.28% 2.86%
As % of the Operating Systems category 15.05% 17.13% 17.65%
Number of daily rates quoted 420 711 1,182
10th Percentile £325 £206 £206
25th Percentile £415 £313 £360
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £525 £463 £500
Median % change year-on-year +13.51% -7.50% +17.65%
75th Percentile £600 £594 £600
90th Percentile £675 £690 £700
UK excluding London median daily rate £539 £475 £463
% change year-on-year +13.47% +2.70% +15.63%
Number of hourly rates quoted 5 18 58
10th Percentile £15.70 £14.89 £20.00
25th Percentile £16.25 £16.06 £24.62
Median hourly rate £17.75 £46.75 £32.00
Median % change year-on-year -62.03% +46.09% +39.13%
75th Percentile £19.38 £61.60 £49.49
90th Percentile £52.00 £66.88 £61.74
UK excluding London median hourly rate £17.75 £58.00 £37.50
% change year-on-year -69.40% +54.67% +68.54%

All Operating Systems
UK

Windows Server falls under the Operating Systems category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring operating system skills.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for operating system skills 4,054 5,658 9,258
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the UK 13.89% 13.30% 16.21%
Number of daily rates quoted 2,664 3,818 6,479
10th Percentile £200 £185 £190
25th Percentile £313 £300 £331
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £467 £470 £501
Median % change year-on-year -0.74% -6.09% +0.10%
75th Percentile £588 £588 £638
90th Percentile £688 £700 £719
UK excluding London median daily rate £445 £450 £475
% change year-on-year -1.11% -5.26% +11.76%
Number of hourly rates quoted 177 390 404
10th Percentile £15.24 £12.73 £14.25
25th Percentile £17.44 £15.31 £17.97
Median hourly rate £22.50 £22.00 £38.50
Median % change year-on-year +2.27% -42.86% +67.39%
75th Percentile £57.50 £60.56 £64.50
90th Percentile £68.00 £70.00 £75.00
UK excluding London median hourly rate £21.59 £22.50 £29.30
% change year-on-year -4.04% -23.21% +46.50%

Windows Server
Job Vacancy Trend

Job postings citing Windows Server as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised.

Job vacancy trend for Windows Server in the UK

Windows Server
Contractor Daily Rate Trend

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Windows Server.

Daily rate trend for Windows Server in the UK

Windows Server
Daily Rate Histogram

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Windows Server over the 6 months to 16 May 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Windows Server in the UK

Windows Server
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Windows Server.

Hourly rate trend for Windows Server in the UK

Windows Server
Hourly Rate Histogram

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Windows Server over the 6 months to 16 May 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Windows Server in the UK

Windows Server
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 Windows Server within the UK over the 6 months to 16 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 -36 524 £550 +15.79% 797
UK excluding London -16 392 £539 +13.47% 660
London -55 174 £525 +16.72% 235
Work from Home -41 160 £500 +7.82% 364
North of England -1 105 £480 +1.05% 158
South East -13 98 £550 - 230
South West +42 76 £575 +15.00% 69
North West +2 66 £431 -46.09% 77
Scotland +12 50 £500 +11.11% 32
East of England +26 36 £550 +120.00% 84
Yorkshire 0 33 £538 +65.38% 56
Midlands -37 28 £450 +28.57% 94
West Midlands -23 20 £400 +14.29% 39
East Midlands -13 8 £500 +53.85% 46
Wales -3 7 £365 +64.04% 8
North East -12 5 £550 +4.76% 31

Windows Server
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
1 103 (16.89%) Microsoft Exchange
2 51 (8.36%) SharePoint
3 30 (4.92%) IIS
4 22 (3.61%) Confluence
5 16 (2.62%) Oracle SOA Suite
6 11 (1.80%) Skype for Business
7 9 (1.48%) Tomcat
8 6 (0.98%) BizTalk Server
9 4 (0.66%) Apache
9 4 (0.66%) JBoss
9 4 (0.66%) SharePoint 2010
10 2 (0.33%) CMS
10 2 (0.33%) Exchange Server 2013
10 2 (0.33%) SAS
10 2 (0.33%) SharePoint Server
10 2 (0.33%) WebSphere
11 1 (0.16%) DataSynapse
11 1 (0.16%) nginx
11 1 (0.16%) WinCC
Applications
1 38 (6.23%) Microsoft Office
2 5 (0.82%) Microsoft PowerPoint
2 5 (0.82%) MS Visio
3 4 (0.66%) InfoPath
4 2 (0.33%) ProjectWise
5 1 (0.16%) Microsoft Excel
Business Applications
1 5 (0.82%) Dynamics CRM
1 5 (0.82%) Remedy ITSM
2 2 (0.33%) Dynamics GP
3 1 (0.16%) Fidessa
3 1 (0.16%) Payment Gateway
Cloud Services
1 263 (43.11%) Azure
2 123 (20.16%) AWS
3 119 (19.51%) Microsoft 365
4 116 (19.02%) Entra ID
5 52 (8.52%) IaaS
6 39 (6.39%) OpenShift
7 27 (4.43%) GCP
8 25 (4.10%) Cloud Computing
8 25 (4.10%) PaaS
9 24 (3.93%) SaaS
10 23 (3.77%) Cohesity
11 20 (3.28%) GitHub
12 17 (2.79%) Azure DevOps
12 17 (2.79%) Nutanix
13 14 (2.30%) OneDrive
14 13 (2.13%) Amazon EC2
14 13 (2.13%) Amazon S3
15 12 (1.97%) Azure Monitor
16 11 (1.80%) Azure Stack
17 10 (1.64%) Route 53
Communications & Networking
1 191 (31.31%) DNS
2 113 (18.52%) DHCP
3 100 (16.39%) Firewall
4 62 (10.16%) VPN
5 59 (9.67%) SAN
6 52 (8.52%) TCP/IP
7 40 (6.56%) LAN
8 32 (5.25%) NAS
9 29 (4.75%) Network Security
9 29 (4.75%) WAN
10 22 (3.61%) SMTP
11 20 (3.28%) HTTP
12 18 (2.95%) Intrusion Detection
12 18 (2.95%) Skype
13 14 (2.30%) MPLS
14 12 (1.97%) Wi-Fi
15 11 (1.80%) Fibre Channel
15 11 (1.80%) iSCSI
16 10 (1.64%) Internet
16 10 (1.64%) NetScaler
Database & Business Intelligence
1 81 (13.28%) SQL Server
2 23 (3.77%) Elasticsearch
2 23 (3.77%) Oracle Database
3 19 (3.11%) Big Data
4 15 (2.46%) Amazon RDS
5 12 (1.97%) SQL Server Reporting Services
6 9 (1.48%) PostgreSQL
7 8 (1.31%) SQL Server Integration Services
8 6 (0.98%) Oracle Reports
9 5 (0.82%) Azure SQL Database
9 5 (0.82%) Relational Database
10 4 (0.66%) MongoDB
11 3 (0.49%) Apache Cassandra
11 3 (0.49%) DB2
11 3 (0.49%) Neo4j
12 2 (0.33%) GIS
12 2 (0.33%) Hadoop
12 2 (0.33%) IDOL
12 2 (0.33%) MSDE
12 2 (0.33%) Sybase ASE
Development Applications
1 46 (7.54%) Git
2 43 (7.05%) Jenkins
3 31 (5.08%) JIRA
4 16 (2.62%) Bitbucket
5 15 (2.46%) GitLab
6 8 (1.31%) SonarQube
7 4 (0.66%) MSI
7 4 (0.66%) Selenium
8 3 (0.49%) Artifactory
8 3 (0.49%) JUnit
8 3 (0.49%) Sonatype Nexus
9 2 (0.33%) HP UFT
9 2 (0.33%) LoadRunner
9 2 (0.33%) Octopus Deploy
9 2 (0.33%) Subversion
9 2 (0.33%) TeamCity
10 1 (0.16%) Atlassian Bamboo
10 1 (0.16%) NUnit
10 1 (0.16%) Serena SBM
10 1 (0.16%) Visual Studio
General
1 170 (27.87%) Social Skills
2 87 (14.26%) Finance
3 71 (11.64%) Public Sector
4 49 (8.03%) Analytical Skills
5 25 (4.10%) Banking
6 22 (3.61%) Telecoms
7 17 (2.79%) Documentation Skills
8 16 (2.62%) Manufacturing
9 14 (2.30%) Inclusion and Diversity
10 13 (2.13%) Legal
11 12 (1.97%) Law
11 12 (1.97%) Military
12 7 (1.15%) Presentation Skills
13 6 (0.98%) Police
14 5 (0.82%) Investment Banking
14 5 (0.82%) Organisational Skills
14 5 (0.82%) Spanish Language
15 3 (0.49%) German Language
15 3 (0.49%) International Banking
15 3 (0.49%) Marketing
Job Titles
1 154 (25.25%) Infrastructure Engineer
2 57 (9.34%) Architect
3 44 (7.21%) Analyst
3 44 (7.21%) Senior
4 40 (6.56%) Support Engineer
5 39 (6.39%) Windows Engineer
6 27 (4.43%) Administrator
7 26 (4.26%) Azure Engineer
7 26 (4.26%) Infrastructure Specialist
8 25 (4.10%) IT Engineer
8 25 (4.10%) Server Engineer
9 24 (3.93%) 3rd Line Engineer
10 20 (3.28%) Infrastructure Architect
11 19 (3.11%) Linux Engineer
11 19 (3.11%) Senior Infrastructure Engineer
12 18 (2.95%) 3rd Line Infrastructure Engineer
13 17 (2.79%) DevOps Engineer
13 17 (2.79%) Lead
14 14 (2.30%) Cloud Engineer
14 14 (2.30%) Microsoft 365 Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 22 (3.61%) .NET
2 17 (2.79%) REST
3 15 (2.46%) LDAP
4 10 (1.64%) SOAP
5 7 (1.15%) ASP.NET
6 6 (0.98%) Middleware
6 6 (0.98%) RabbitMQ
7 5 (0.82%) .NET Framework
7 5 (0.82%) ARM Templates
8 4 (0.66%) Apache Axis
8 4 (0.66%) Azure Blueprints
8 4 (0.66%) Elastic Stack
8 4 (0.66%) HTML
9 3 (0.49%) AngularJS
9 3 (0.49%) Apache NiFi
9 3 (0.49%) ASP.NET Core
9 3 (0.49%) CSS
9 3 (0.49%) OpenAPI
9 3 (0.49%) Spring Boot
9 3 (0.49%) Swagger
Miscellaneous
1 63 (10.33%) PKI
2 46 (7.54%) Data Centre
3 35 (5.74%) Clustering
4 31 (5.08%) Hybrid Cloud
5 26 (4.26%) Management Information System
6 23 (3.77%) Linux Command Line
6 23 (3.77%) Onboarding
7 18 (2.95%) Self-Motivation
8 13 (2.13%) Public Cloud
9 11 (1.80%) Data Protection Act
10 10 (1.64%) Enterprise Software
10 10 (1.64%) Replication
11 8 (1.31%) Security Posture
12 6 (0.98%) Client/Server
12 6 (0.98%) Cloud Native
12 6 (0.98%) Enterprise Storage
12 6 (0.98%) Private Cloud
13 5 (0.82%) Equities
13 5 (0.82%) Foreign Exchange (FX)
13 5 (0.82%) Grid Computing
Operating Systems
1 609 (99.84%) Windows
2 197 (32.30%) Linux
3 97 (15.90%) Windows Server 2016
4 90 (14.75%) Windows Server 2019
5 87 (14.26%) Windows 10
6 60 (9.84%) Windows Server 2012
7 55 (9.02%) Red Hat Enterprise Linux
8 39 (6.39%) Unix
9 20 (3.28%) Ubuntu
9 20 (3.28%) Windows Server 2003
10 14 (2.30%) VMS
11 12 (1.97%) Android
11 12 (1.97%) CentOS
11 12 (1.97%) Solaris
12 7 (1.15%) Amazon Linux
13 6 (0.98%) Mac OS
13 6 (0.98%) Windows 8
13 6 (0.98%) Windows Server 2008
14 5 (0.82%) Apple iOS
14 5 (0.82%) Windows XP
Processes & Methodologies
1 206 (33.77%) Infrastructure Engineering
2 130 (21.31%) Problem-Solving
3 111 (18.20%) ITIL
4 95 (15.57%) Migration
5 85 (13.93%) DevOps
6 79 (12.95%) Agile
7 58 (9.51%) High Availability
8 55 (9.02%) Disaster Recovery
9 47 (7.70%) Service Management
10 44 (7.21%) Patch Management
11 42 (6.89%) Project Delivery
12 38 (6.23%) Configuration Management
13 37 (6.07%) CI/CD
14 35 (5.74%) Server Management
15 34 (5.57%) Change Management
15 34 (5.57%) SIEM
16 32 (5.25%) ITSM
17 31 (5.08%) Cybersecurity
18 30 (4.92%) Roadmaps
18 30 (4.92%) Root Cause Analysis
Programming Languages
1 260 (42.62%) PowerShell
2 102 (16.72%) SQL
3 101 (16.56%) Python
4 58 (9.51%) Bash
5 31 (5.08%) Java
6 29 (4.75%) C#
7 23 (3.77%) Perl
8 22 (3.61%) PL/SQL
9 17 (2.79%) Shell Script
10 13 (2.13%) VBScript
11 11 (1.80%) VB
12 10 (1.64%) JavaScript
13 6 (0.98%) Bicep
14 5 (0.82%) C++
14 5 (0.82%) Ruby
15 3 (0.49%) T-SQL
16 1 (0.16%) ActionScript
16 1 (0.16%) C
16 1 (0.16%) VB.NET
16 1 (0.16%) VBA
Qualifications
1 234 (38.36%) Security Cleared
2 144 (23.61%) SC Cleared
3 94 (15.41%) DV Cleared
4 60 (9.84%) Microsoft Certification
5 59 (9.67%) Degree
6 36 (5.90%) Azure Certification
7 34 (5.57%) Cisco Certification
8 28 (4.59%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
9 26 (4.26%) MCSE
10 14 (2.30%) AWS Certification
10 14 (2.30%) CISSP
11 11 (1.80%) CCNP
11 11 (1.80%) MCSA
11 11 (1.80%) RHCE
12 10 (1.64%) OCA
12 10 (1.64%) Oracle Certification
13 9 (1.48%) CompTIA Security+
13 9 (1.48%) RHCA
14 8 (1.31%) CISM
15 7 (1.15%) Computer Science Degree
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (3.11%) SLA
2 12 (1.97%) GDPR
2 12 (1.97%) ISO/IEC 27001
3 10 (1.64%) QA
4 7 (1.15%) NCSC
5 6 (0.98%) Accessibility
6 5 (0.82%) Cyber Essentials
6 5 (0.82%) Disclosure Scotland
6 5 (0.82%) Government Security Classifications
6 5 (0.82%) NIST
7 4 (0.66%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
7 4 (0.66%) PCI DSS
7 4 (0.66%) SOC 2
8 2 (0.33%) HMG Security Policy Framework
8 2 (0.33%) Sarbanes-Oxley
9 1 (0.16%) HL7
9 1 (0.16%) IEC 61131
9 1 (0.16%) JSP 440
System Software
1 356 (58.36%) Active Directory
2 179 (29.34%) VMware Infrastructure
3 101 (16.56%) Hyper-V
4 61 (10.00%) VMware ESXi
5 51 (8.36%) Docker
6 48 (7.87%) vSphere
7 33 (5.41%) Virtual Machines
8 30 (4.92%) Virtual Servers
9 23 (3.77%) Microsoft Virtual Server
10 17 (2.79%) BitLocker
10 17 (2.79%) Virtual Desktop
11 15 (2.46%) Microsoft App-V
12 14 (2.30%) VMware NSX
13 11 (1.80%) Terminal Services
14 9 (1.48%) NFS
14 9 (1.48%) XenApp
14 9 (1.48%) XenDesktop
15 5 (0.82%) Firmware
15 5 (0.82%) VMware Workstation
16 4 (0.66%) Citrix Hypervisor
Systems Management
1 95 (15.57%) Ansible
2 78 (12.79%) SCCM
3 70 (11.48%) Microsoft Intune
4 66 (10.82%) Terraform
5 62 (10.16%) WSUS
6 59 (9.67%) Kubernetes
7 58 (9.51%) vCenter Server
8 38 (6.23%) Puppet
9 18 (2.95%) SCOM
10 17 (2.79%) NetBackup
11 16 (2.62%) Progress Chef
12 15 (2.46%) vMotion
13 13 (2.13%) Microsoft Clustering
13 13 (2.13%) Nagios
14 10 (1.64%) Kibana
14 10 (1.64%) Oracle RMAN
15 9 (1.48%) Single Sign-On
16 8 (1.31%) Active Directory Federation Services
16 8 (1.31%) Grafana
16 8 (1.31%) VxRail
Vendors
1 283 (46.39%) Microsoft
2 268 (43.93%) VMware
3 70 (11.48%) Cisco
4 63 (10.33%) Oracle
5 61 (10.00%) Red Hat
6 45 (7.38%) Citrix
7 41 (6.72%) Dell
8 32 (5.25%) NetApp
9 31 (5.08%) HP
10 24 (3.93%) SolarWinds
10 24 (3.93%) Splunk
10 24 (3.93%) Veeam
11 20 (3.28%) CyberArk
11 20 (3.28%) Google
12 19 (3.11%) Symantec
12 19 (3.11%) Veritas
13 16 (2.62%) IBM
14 15 (2.46%) ServiceNow
15 14 (2.30%) Atlassian
16 12 (1.97%) Zscaler