Microsoft Contracts in the South East

Microsoft
England > South East

The table below provides summary statistics for contract job vacancies advertised in the South East requiring knowledge or experience of Microsoft products and/or services. It includes a benchmarking guide to contractor rates offered in vacancies that cited Microsoft over the 6 months leading up to 25 April 2025, comparing them to the same period in the previous two years.

The figures below represent the IT contractor job market in general and are not representative of contractor rates within the Microsoft Corporation.

6 months to
25 Apr 2025
Same period 2024 Same period 2023
Rank 7 6 5
Rank change year-on-year -1 -1 -1
Contract jobs citing Microsoft 453 817 886
As % of all contract jobs advertised in the South East 15.10% 14.68% 15.18%
As % of the Vendors category 28.91% 30.74% 30.85%
Number of daily rates quoted 307 547 595
10th Percentile £220 £193 £185
25th Percentile £363 £306 £300
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £493 £465 £480
Median % change year-on-year +5.91% -3.13% +6.67%
75th Percentile £578 £575 £600
90th Percentile £627 £675 £688
England median daily rate £475 £488 £500
% change year-on-year -2.56% -2.50% +0.50%
Number of hourly rates quoted 31 73 38
10th Percentile - £11.71 £15.15
25th Percentile £14.20 £12.00 £18.25
Median hourly rate £15.00 £21.00 £20.47
Median % change year-on-year -28.57% +2.59% +24.06%
75th Percentile £24.38 £50.00 £43.69
90th Percentile £32.05 £61.36 £60.48
England median hourly rate £20.00 £15.00 £22.00
% change year-on-year +33.33% -31.82% +18.92%

All Vendors
South East

Microsoft falls under the Vendor Products and Services category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all contract job vacancies requiring knowledge or experience of all vendor products and services in the South East.

Contract vacancies with a requirement for knowledge or experience of vendor products and services 1,567 2,658 2,872
As % of all contract IT jobs advertised in the South East 52.23% 47.75% 49.22%
Number of daily rates quoted 1,049 1,623 1,967
10th Percentile £244 £213 £205
25th Percentile £406 £378 £370
Median daily rate (50th Percentile) £513 £500 £500
Median % change year-on-year +2.50% - +2.56%
75th Percentile £610 £600 £607
90th Percentile £675 £688 £700
England median daily rate £525 £520 £538
% change year-on-year +0.96% -3.26% +2.38%
Number of hourly rates quoted 91 179 124
10th Percentile £14.20 £11.96 £18.08
25th Percentile £16.95 £17.06 £21.76
Median hourly rate £24.66 £47.50 £45.00
Median % change year-on-year -48.08% +5.56% +130.53%
75th Percentile £59.44 £61.30 £62.63
90th Percentile £71.25 £65.40 £75.00
England median hourly rate £27.31 £22.50 £39.28
% change year-on-year +21.39% -42.71% +87.02%

Microsoft
Job Vacancy Trend in the South East

Job postings citing Microsoft as a proportion of all IT jobs advertised in the South East.

Job vacancy trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contractor Daily Rate Trend in the South East

3-month moving average daily rate quoted in jobs citing Microsoft in the South East.

Daily rate trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Daily Rate Histogram in the South East

Daily rate distribution for jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 25 April 2025.

Daily rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contractor Hourly Rate Trend in the South East

3-month moving average hourly rates quoted in jobs citing Microsoft in the South East.

Hourly rate trend for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Hourly Rate Histogram in the South East

Hourly rate distribution of jobs citing Microsoft in the South East over the 6 months to 25 April 2025.

Hourly rate histogram for Microsoft in the South East

Microsoft
Contract Job Locations in the South East

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median contractor rates quoted in IT jobs citing Microsoft within the South East region over the 6 months to 25 April 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
Thames Valley -4 225 £494 +5.11% 413
Berkshire -5 158 £488 -2.50% 228
Hampshire +2 130 £500 -16.67% 199
Buckinghamshire -2 44 £550 +22.53% 119
Kent +1 29 £263 -30.56% 79
Surrey -11 25 £481 +18.04% 105
West Sussex 0 24 £386 -14.22% 49
Oxfordshire 0 23 £375 -3.23% 121
East Sussex +6 15 £550 +8.91% 54
Home Counties +1 1 - -
Sussex - 1 £500 - 41
Microsoft
England

Microsoft
Co-occurring Skills and Capabilities in the South East 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 52 (11.48%) SharePoint
2 29 (6.40%) Microsoft Exchange
3 27 (5.96%) Confluence
4 7 (1.55%) IIS
5 6 (1.32%) CMS
6 4 (0.88%) Apache
6 4 (0.88%) Apache Spark
6 4 (0.88%) BizTalk Server
6 4 (0.88%) Drupal
6 4 (0.88%) WordPress
7 3 (0.66%) Anypoint
7 3 (0.66%) Exchange Server 2003
7 3 (0.66%) Exchange Server 2010
7 3 (0.66%) Exchange Server 2013
7 3 (0.66%) Mule
7 3 (0.66%) Mule ESB
7 3 (0.66%) Office Communications Server
7 3 (0.66%) SharePoint Server
7 3 (0.66%) Skype for Business
7 3 (0.66%) Tomcat
Applications
1 75 (16.56%) Microsoft Office
2 41 (9.05%) Microsoft Excel
3 13 (2.87%) Microsoft PowerPoint
4 12 (2.65%) MS Visio
5 5 (1.10%) Microsoft Project
6 1 (0.22%) Adobe Premiere
6 1 (0.22%) CATIA
Business Applications
1 8 (1.77%) Dynamics CRM
2 5 (1.10%) SAP S/4HANA
3 4 (0.88%) Sparx Enterprise Architect
4 3 (0.66%) Dynamics AX
5 2 (0.44%) SAP ECC
5 2 (0.44%) SAP Oil and Gas
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle ASCP
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle EBS
6 1 (0.22%) Oracle SCM
6 1 (0.22%) Remedy AR System
6 1 (0.22%) Remedy ITSM
6 1 (0.22%) SAP CO
6 1 (0.22%) SAP FI
6 1 (0.22%) SAP FI/CO
6 1 (0.22%) SAP GTS
6 1 (0.22%) SAP SD
Cloud Services
1 165 (36.42%) Azure
2 106 (23.40%) Microsoft 365
3 54 (11.92%) Power Platform
4 40 (8.83%) AWS
5 32 (7.06%) Azure DevOps
6 26 (5.74%) Entra ID
7 24 (5.30%) Dynamics 365
7 24 (5.30%) PaaS
8 22 (4.86%) SaaS
9 21 (4.64%) IaaS
10 15 (3.31%) OpenShift
11 13 (2.87%) Power Automate
11 13 (2.87%) PowerApps
12 12 (2.65%) GCP
13 9 (1.99%) Azure AKS
13 9 (1.99%) Azure Data Factory
14 8 (1.77%) Serverless
15 7 (1.55%) Azure Monitor
15 7 (1.55%) Azure Sentinel
15 7 (1.55%) OneDrive
Communications & Networking
1 55 (12.14%) Firewall
2 50 (11.04%) VPN
3 33 (7.28%) DNS
4 26 (5.74%) SAN
5 25 (5.52%) DHCP
5 25 (5.52%) WAN
6 20 (4.42%) LAN
6 20 (4.42%) MPLS
7 19 (4.19%) Internet
8 16 (3.53%) Ethernet
9 15 (3.31%) ATM
9 15 (3.31%) Frame Relay
9 15 (3.31%) GPRS
9 15 (3.31%) GSM
9 15 (3.31%) LTE
9 15 (3.31%) Network Security
9 15 (3.31%) SDH
9 15 (3.31%) UMTS
9 15 (3.31%) Wireshark
10 13 (2.87%) SMTP
Database & Business Intelligence
1 34 (7.51%) Power BI
1 34 (7.51%) SQL Server
2 26 (5.74%) Big Data
3 14 (3.09%) Data Warehouse
4 13 (2.87%) Azure SQL Database
5 11 (2.43%) Elasticsearch
5 11 (2.43%) Relational Database
6 10 (2.21%) Amazon RDS
7 9 (1.99%) Data Lake
7 9 (1.99%) Metadata
8 6 (1.32%) Power Query
9 5 (1.10%) MySQL
10 4 (0.88%) Apache Cassandra
10 4 (0.88%) PostgreSQL
11 3 (0.66%) MS Access
11 3 (0.66%) NoSQL
11 3 (0.66%) SQL Server Analysis Services
11 3 (0.66%) SQL Server Reporting Services
12 2 (0.44%) SQL Server Integration Services
12 2 (0.44%) Tableau
Development Applications
1 28 (6.18%) JIRA
2 19 (4.19%) Visual Studio
3 14 (3.09%) Git
4 8 (1.77%) ERwin
4 8 (1.77%) PowerDesigner
5 5 (1.10%) Jenkins
6 4 (0.88%) Bitbucket Server
7 3 (0.66%) MSI
7 3 (0.66%) Postman
8 2 (0.44%) Burp Suite
8 2 (0.44%) Cypress.io
8 2 (0.44%) Metasploit
8 2 (0.44%) Moq
8 2 (0.44%) QARun
8 2 (0.44%) Team Foundation Server
8 2 (0.44%) Terragrunt
8 2 (0.44%) Visual Studio Code
8 2 (0.44%) Vite
8 2 (0.44%) WinRunner
9 1 (0.22%) Subversion
General
1 177 (39.07%) Social Skills
2 73 (16.11%) Finance
3 52 (11.48%) Analytical Skills
4 48 (10.60%) Telecoms
5 37 (8.17%) Public Sector
6 20 (4.42%) Manufacturing
7 17 (3.75%) Organisational Skills
8 11 (2.43%) Inclusion and Diversity
9 10 (2.21%) Automotive
9 10 (2.21%) Presentation Skills
10 9 (1.99%) Documentation Skills
10 9 (1.99%) Marketing
11 8 (1.77%) Legal
12 6 (1.32%) Retail
13 5 (1.10%) Billing
13 5 (1.10%) Pharmaceutical
14 4 (0.88%) Banking
14 4 (0.88%) Influencing Skills
14 4 (0.88%) Local Government
15 3 (0.66%) Military
Job Titles
1 53 (11.70%) Analyst
2 49 (10.82%) Architect
3 48 (10.60%) Developer
4 41 (9.05%) Support Engineer
5 39 (8.61%) Senior
6 37 (8.17%) Infrastructure Engineer
7 24 (5.30%) Consultant
8 19 (4.19%) Azure Engineer
9 17 (3.75%) 3rd Line Engineer
9 17 (3.75%) Desktop Engineer
10 16 (3.53%) Delphi Developer
10 16 (3.53%) IT Support
11 15 (3.31%) 2nd Line Support
11 15 (3.31%) 3rd Line Support
11 15 (3.31%) 3rd Line Support Engineer
11 15 (3.31%) Service Analyst
12 14 (3.09%) IP Engineer
13 13 (2.87%) Infrastructure Architect
13 13 (2.87%) Service Desk Analyst
13 13 (2.87%) Test Engineer
Libraries, Frameworks & Software Standards
1 13 (2.87%) .NET
1 13 (2.87%) Web Services
2 10 (2.21%) AngularJS
2 10 (2.21%) CSS
2 10 (2.21%) HTML
2 10 (2.21%) SOAP
3 9 (1.99%) PySpark
3 9 (1.99%) SAML
4 8 (1.77%) JSON
4 8 (1.77%) RESTful
4 8 (1.77%) XML
5 7 (1.55%) .NET Core
6 6 (1.32%) ADO
6 6 (1.32%) ARM Templates
6 6 (1.32%) REST
7 5 (1.10%) OAuth
8 4 (0.88%) CodeIgniter
8 4 (0.88%) jQuery
8 4 (0.88%) LAMP
8 4 (0.88%) OpenID
Miscellaneous
1 30 (6.62%) Self-Motivation
2 22 (4.86%) Onboarding
3 20 (4.42%) PKI
4 16 (3.53%) Product Ownership
5 13 (2.87%) Clustering
5 13 (2.87%) Public Cloud
6 12 (2.65%) Hybrid Cloud
7 11 (2.43%) Data Centre
7 11 (2.43%) Video Conferencing
8 10 (2.21%) Management Information System
9 7 (1.55%) Cloud Native
9 7 (1.55%) Driving Licence
9 7 (1.55%) Replication
10 6 (1.32%) Cyber Threat
10 6 (1.32%) Low-Code
10 6 (1.32%) Security Posture
11 5 (1.10%) Data Structures
11 5 (1.10%) Legacy Systems
11 5 (1.10%) Security Operations Centre
12 4 (0.88%) Enterprise Software
Operating Systems
1 148 (32.67%) Windows
2 55 (12.14%) Linux
3 42 (9.27%) Windows Server
4 27 (5.96%) Unix
5 16 (3.53%) Windows 10
6 11 (2.43%) Windows Server 2003
6 11 (2.43%) Windows Server 2016
7 10 (2.21%) Ubuntu
8 7 (1.55%) Android
8 7 (1.55%) CentOS
8 7 (1.55%) Mac OS
9 6 (1.32%) Windows Server 2019
10 4 (0.88%) Apple iOS
11 2 (0.44%) AIX
11 2 (0.44%) Windows Server 2012
12 1 (0.22%) VMS
Processes & Methodologies
1 129 (28.48%) Problem-Solving
2 70 (15.45%) Agile
3 58 (12.80%) DevOps
4 49 (10.82%) Migration
5 48 (10.60%) ITIL
6 44 (9.71%) Business Intelligence
7 41 (9.05%) Analytics
8 39 (8.61%) Project Management
9 38 (8.39%) Cybersecurity
9 38 (8.39%) Infrastructure Engineering
10 29 (6.40%) Collaborative Working
11 28 (6.18%) Stakeholder Management
12 26 (5.74%) CI/CD
12 26 (5.74%) Customer Service
13 25 (5.52%) Root Cause Analysis
14 23 (5.08%) Data Modelling
15 22 (4.86%) Continuous Improvement
16 21 (4.64%) Validation
17 20 (4.42%) Data Security
17 20 (4.42%) Functional Testing
Programming Languages
1 79 (17.44%) SQL
2 60 (13.25%) PowerShell
3 37 (8.17%) Python
4 34 (7.51%) C#
4 34 (7.51%) Java
5 18 (3.97%) PL/SQL
6 16 (3.53%) Delphi
7 14 (3.09%) JavaScript
8 10 (2.21%) Bash
9 9 (1.99%) TypeScript
10 8 (1.77%) Bicep
11 6 (1.32%) Shell Script
11 6 (1.32%) T-SQL
12 4 (0.88%) Kusto Query Language
12 4 (0.88%) PHP
12 4 (0.88%) VB
13 3 (0.66%) Data Analysis Expressions
13 3 (0.66%) DataWeave
13 3 (0.66%) Perl
13 3 (0.66%) VBA
Qualifications
1 94 (20.75%) Security Cleared
2 58 (12.80%) SC Cleared
3 56 (12.36%) Degree
4 32 (7.06%) DV Cleared
4 32 (7.06%) Microsoft Certification
5 23 (5.08%) Cisco Certification
6 18 (3.97%) CCNP
7 16 (3.53%) ISEB
7 16 (3.53%) ISTQB
7 16 (3.53%) ISTQB Foundation Certification
8 14 (3.09%) CISSP
8 14 (3.09%) Computer Science Degree
9 9 (1.99%) A+ Certification
9 9 (1.99%) Azure Certification
9 9 (1.99%) CISM
10 8 (1.77%) MCSE
11 7 (1.55%) CCNA
12 5 (1.10%) VMware Certified Professional (VCP)
13 4 (0.88%) MCP
13 4 (0.88%) MCSA
Quality Assurance & Compliance
1 19 (4.19%) SLA
2 9 (1.99%) GDPR
3 8 (1.77%) Data Quality
4 7 (1.55%) HIPAA
4 7 (1.55%) NIST
4 7 (1.55%) PMO
5 6 (1.32%) Cyber Essentials
5 6 (1.32%) ISO/IEC 27001
6 4 (0.88%) NCSC
6 4 (0.88%) QA
7 3 (0.66%) PCI DSS
8 2 (0.44%) GRC
8 2 (0.44%) SOC 2
9 1 (0.22%) Cyber Essentials PLUS
System Software
1 108 (23.84%) Active Directory
2 42 (9.27%) VMware Infrastructure
3 22 (4.86%) vSphere
4 15 (3.31%) Docker
5 14 (3.09%) Hyper-V
6 12 (2.65%) VMware ESXi
7 9 (1.99%) BitLocker
8 8 (1.77%) Microsoft App-V
8 8 (1.77%) Terminal Services
9 7 (1.55%) Virtual Machines
10 6 (1.32%) DFS Replication
10 6 (1.32%) XenApp
11 5 (1.10%) XenDesktop
12 4 (0.88%) VMware NSX
13 3 (0.66%) Apache ZooKeeper
13 3 (0.66%) Brightmail
13 3 (0.66%) ISA Server
13 3 (0.66%) NFS
14 2 (0.44%) Virtual Desktop
15 1 (0.22%) Apache Flume
Systems Management
1 34 (7.51%) Microsoft Intune
2 28 (6.18%) Terraform
3 25 (5.52%) Ansible
3 25 (5.52%) Kubernetes
4 24 (5.30%) SCCM
5 15 (3.31%) vCenter Server
6 13 (2.87%) Puppet
7 11 (2.43%) SCOM
8 8 (1.77%) Microsoft Clustering
8 8 (1.77%) Nagios
8 8 (1.77%) vMotion
9 7 (1.55%) Nessus
9 7 (1.55%) WSUS
10 5 (1.10%) Active Directory Federation Services
11 4 (0.88%) Progress Chef
12 3 (0.66%) CloudHub
12 3 (0.66%) Prometheus
12 3 (0.66%) SCSM
12 3 (0.66%) Single Sign-On
12 3 (0.66%) WMI
Vendors
1 57 (12.58%) VMware
2 30 (6.62%) Cisco
3 29 (6.40%) ServiceNow
4 25 (5.52%) Citrix
5 23 (5.08%) Oracle
6 22 (4.86%) HP
7 21 (4.64%) SAP
8 16 (3.53%) Databricks
9 15 (3.31%) Juniper
10 13 (2.87%) Dell
11 11 (2.43%) Google
12 8 (1.77%) Salesforce
12 8 (1.77%) Splunk
12 8 (1.77%) Symantec
13 7 (1.55%) Palo Alto
13 7 (1.55%) Red Hat
13 7 (1.55%) Sage
14 6 (1.32%) SolarWinds
15 4 (0.88%) Veeam
15 4 (0.88%) Zend