I am based in the UK and until a couple of years ago worked as a contract developer for years and enjoyed very healthy rates! Even 5 years ago the “going rate” for a SharePoint developer was £400 – £500 day. Has that changed nowadays, what rates are on offer where you are ? SharePoint Admins were usually about 50 – 100 lower, has that gap closed ?
There’s now way more people on the market – SharePoint is massive, so what’s that done to rates ? Is it still a gravy train ? Has Outsourcing / Off-shoring changed things ?
“Many companies struggle in recruiting good SharePoint people because they lack the understanding to be able to select appropriately.” You hit the nail on the head. Many companies don’t understand the enormity nor the complexity of SharePoint. They think it’s a product like Excel that you just install and people start using. They don’t understand all the many different roles that it takes to build and then support it. This is in part Microsoft’s own fault due to the marketing message that they spread, that SharePoint is easy to roll out and easy to use, of which it is neither.
Well documented Wendy… that’s been my experience as well… there is also the issue with “let Joe work on the server with SharePoint in the corner since he’s got nothing to do presently and we want to see what it can do”. While things like Excel and other applications may work in that scenario, even though I would argue against that approach for anything, it certainly won’t work for SharePoint and business buy in as well as a documented successful strategy from the outset is mandatory.
Given that ” people lack the understanding to be able to select appropriately” and are “many different roles that it takes to build and then support it” it’s difficult to talk about simple flat rates and engage the right people/partner. Let’s not forget the importance of SharePoint implementation maturity and how critical (or not that important) is for the company.
As for outsourcing it depend whether you talk about SharePoint product development, SharePoint deployment or maintenance & support.The costs very probably affects the 1st and partially the last as for implementation this cannot be done easily remote because consulting skills are needed first instead of development (which can be close to 0 in the first phase). Still, if outsourcing (would) mean to externalize non-core services that can be performed better, faster and bring a cost optimization, then nearshore is the alternative and gain ground for SharePoint deployments too.
Anyway, you get what you pay but be careful to get what you need 😉
Hi Perry,
I am in Quebec and that’s the usual rate. It might be lower for long term projects (1 year+). The problem in Canada currently, is there are way to many companies that pay salaries from R&D only, so the set prices a lot lower since it’s all profit. That will slowly bring the Market down for SharePoint Consultants.
Hi Vlad, where are you in Canada? I am in Toronto and the rate here is much lower, it’s about $500-$750 only.
