The latest edition of Nigel Frank International’s Microsoft Dynamics salary survey is now live!
This will be their 12th annual report published, and has proven to be an invaluable resource to myself and my peers over the years.
I had the pleasure of contributing a foreword to the report, which set the scene in terms of where the Dynamics 365 ecosystem is now, what the future holds, and my own career journey. I can say with certainty that the ecosystem has been, and will continue to be, altered dramatically due to the Covid-19 crisis, as is the same with the technology sector as a whole.
The report uncovers a wealth of changing sentiments, along with work benefits, diversity statistics, the importance of certifications, and of course average salaries to name just a few topics covered. After reading through the results, here are my 5 main takeaways:
- Certifications are growing in importance
The crisis has resulted in a huge increase of professionals upskilling; this is due to a combination of increased free time and job losses. Certifications are the best way to beat the competition in this increasingly difficult environment according to 61% of professionals surveyed, who believe certifications give you the edge in the job market. This along with the fact that getting certified can increase your salary by up to a reported 22% makes the decision whether to get certified or not an easy one. This was echoed by 80% of respondents who agreed Dynamics certifications were important towards increasing earning potential. Now is the time to upskill and safeguard your career!
- The rise of working from home
The most obvious impact of Covid-19 on our working lives has been the shift from office to remote. The increase in related benefits offered such as a company laptop (73%) has followed, with 60% of respondents being offered homeworking. It will be interesting to see if this continues as restrictions across the world are beginning to ease, but it certainly seems the pandemic has changed our way of working forever. A company laptop and flexible/ remote working options have continuously been the most desired benefits when looking at past editions of the survey, so if this continues, job satisfaction will surely be boosted within the Dynamics workforce.
- Equal rights are being championed
69% of respondents see their employers as being equal rights champions, which is hugely positive. Obviously, there is some way to go to reach the remaining 31%, however this signals change for the better across the industry. This along with 61% of employers promoting racial and ethnic diversity, and 56% hiring and retaining mature employees, is a resounding success. I hope this will continue and grow across the tech sector as a whole.
- Increasing workload for partners
51% of employees working for Dynamics partners have seen their workload increase over the last year, and this was prior to the effects of the Coronavirus. This is a keen reflection of the digital skills gap, which will only be widening with the increased demand on cloud and digital in terms of keeping businesses and economies functioning. It is crucial that more people are encouraged into the tech sector in order to relieve the burden from these existing Dynamics professionals. This will be sure to further boost diversity within the ecosystem also.
- Increased adoption of Dynamics 365
Since its release in November 2019, there has been an increase in take up from both new customers and existing users. 41% of end users, an 5% increase on last year’s result, are using Dynamics 365, with a further 19% expecting to use it in the future. The move to the cloud has been instrumental to this increase, and Dynamics 365 only looks to keep building momentum and customer base.
If you’d like to read the full report, and find out the average salary for your role and location, please do take a look here: https://www.nigelfrank.com/microsoft-dynamics-salary-survey/
Hope it helps..
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