A third of Microsoft Dynamics tech pros plot job swap

Education and skills blackboard

More than a third of Microsoft Dynamics specialists are planning to change jobs over the next 12 months, with nearly 60 per cent citing remuneration and career progression issues.

These were two of the findings from a worldwide poll of 10,000 Microsoft Dynamics IT professionals, carried out by Newcastle-based IT recruitment firm Nigel Frank International.

The survey is the fifth the company, which also boasts offices in New York, San Francisco, Australia and Singapore, has carried out over the past half decade.

Confidence in the Dynamics product is high amongst the community.

The results are being labelled as interim for now, and are being released to coincide with Microsoft's Annual Convergence Event, which takes place this month. The full report is expected to follow in June.

The company's findings suggest demand for Microsoft Dynamics specialists is high, with salaries for permanent staff increasing by an average of four per cent.

Meanwhile, the average salaries for Microsoft Dynamics project managers and technical architects has risen by nine per cent and 14 per cent, respectively, since last year's survey.

Despite this, 35 per cent of those questioned said they were planning to leave their current job over the next 12 months, with 58 per cent blaming a lack of salary increase and career prospects.

Thirty-six per cent said they planned to leave because of the lack of training and development prospects on offer at their current employer.

Sean Wadsworth, chief executive of Nigel Frank International, said the IT pro community seems generally satisfied with the Microsoft Dynamics suite, with many anticipating an increase in workload this year.

"Overall, confidence in the Dynamics product is high amongst the community with 86 per cent of those surveyed being satisfied with Dynamics as a product and less than four per cent considering another ERP or CRM," he said.

"Interestingly, the biggest source of dissatisfaction was lack of training and development. However, those looking to leave within the next 12 months are more motivated by money or career prospects than lack of trading."

Caroline Donnelly is the news and analysis editor of IT Pro and its sister site Cloud Pro, and covers general news, as well as the storage, security, public sector, cloud and Microsoft beats. Caroline has been a member of the IT Pro/Cloud Pro team since March 2012, and has previously worked as a reporter at several B2B publications, including UK channel magazine CRN, and as features writer for local weekly newspaper, The Slough and Windsor Observer. She studied Medical Biochemistry at the University of Leicester and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Magazine Journalism at PMA Training in 2006.