Bekker's Blog

Blog archive

Microsoft Azure Survey: Architects Are the Most Expensive Cloud Employees

Architects are the most expensive employee type for Microsoft Azure partners in most regions of the world, according to new Microsoft partner research.

Microsoft this month released details of a survey conducted in November of more than 1,100 Azure partners with active cloud practices worldwide.

The architect category was the most expensive cloud resource in every geography except for Canada and the Middle East/Africa (MEA), and architects were second in both of those geographies.

[Click on image for larger view.] Source: Microsoft

In the United States, the median cost of an architect was $125,000. The next closest categories were developers and sales/marketing employees, which both checked in at $100,000.

Sales and marketing was the most expensive employee type in Canada and in the MEA, according to the survey. In Canada, a sales/marketing resource was $90,000, while the median for an architect was $87,500. The difference wasn't that slight in MEA, where architects commanded about $30,000, while sales/marketing was at $45,850.

As for locating employees, respondents reported that referrals were the most important source. Seven out of 10 of the partners said they found employees through referrals. The next most popular method, according to the survey, was LinkedIn, with 59 percent identifying Microsoft's newly acquired social network as a key place to identify potential hires.

Microsoft's full 39-slide deck summarizing the survey findings is available here.

Posted by Scott Bekker on February 13, 2017


Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.