Insights · Notes from the desk
Notes from the desk.
What happening in the markets.
See below what we see happening in the market, trends, changes, challenges and what's “next”!
Showing 14 of 24 pieces · For clientsClear
For clientsThe European data contract market just woke up. Here's what changed.
After a long winter, senior data and platform contracting is back — quietly, unevenly, and at rates most buyers haven't caught up to yet.
For clientsYour first data contractor will decide the next two years. Choose accordingly.
Most Series A founders hire the wrong shape first — and spend year two unwinding it. A working framework, with current European rates.
For clientsSnowflake vs Databricks in 2026: the contract market has already picked sides
We run searches on both stacks every month across Europe. The rate gap has closed — but the hiring difficulty hasn't.
For clientsInterim directors aren't a recession trade — they're a permanent shift
European scale-ups are buying senior judgement on 6–12 month contracts. When it works, when it doesn't, and what the rates really are.
For clientsSOW or T&M? Stop picking on preference and start picking on scope.
Both models have their moment. Pick the wrong one and you overpay by 20% or ship six months late. Here's how we actually decide.
For clients393,000 short and NIS2 live: European cyber is the tightest contract market of 2026
The workforce gap widened again, DORA is enforceable, and boards have stopped treating cyber as an IT line item. What that means for rates and time-to-hire.
For clientsEuropean AI budgets are still growing. What buyers are actually hiring has changed.
The money hasn't slowed — the roles have shifted. Pure LLM research is out. MLOps, evaluation and AI governance are the scarce hires of 2026.
For clientsThe 2027 SAP cliff is real. The contract market is already pricing the panic.
Mainstream ECC support ends in 2027. Most European enterprises are behind. The buyers moving now are ring-fencing capacity — everyone else pays for it later.
For clientsThe volume-recruitment model is losing the senior contract market. Here's the data.
CV blasts and pyramid teams still work at the junior end. At the senior end of the European contract market, they cost you time, credibility and the shortlist.
For clientsFinOps became the six-figure specialism nobody was planning to hire
The State of FinOps 2026 report is unambiguous: cloud cost is now an executive conversation. What that means for European contract rates, and who's actually landing them.
For clientsEuropean cloud contract rates in 2026: the premium quietly widened
YunoJuno, IT Jobs Watch and our own pipeline all point the same way — cloud, AI and product skills are pulling further away from the median. The gap map.
For clientsPlatform engineering ate DevOps. The contract market noticed before the buyers did.
The job title changed. The rate changed. The shape of the work changed. What European buyers should actually be hiring in 2026 — and what to stop paying for.
For clients2 August 2026: the EU AI Act deadline European buyers keep underestimating
GPAI obligations enforce this August. Fines reach €35m or 7% of global turnover. Here's what actually needs to be in place — and what the contract market is charging to put it there.
For clientsThe first 30 days of a contractor decide the next twelve. Here's how good clients run it.
CXC's 2026 research is blunt: onboarding decides productivity for the rest of the engagement. What the best European clients do differently in the first four weeks.