Data Center Salaries Stagnate

The IT industry may be emerging from a difficult spell, but data center managers salaries are yet to reflect this upswing, according to Enterprise Systems’ 2004 salary survey.

The study found that a typical data center manager is likely to receive a base salary of around $79,300 this year, a figure only 2 percent more than in 2002.

It is not surprising, then, that morale within many data centers is so low: There is a feeling that many boards are yet to loosen their purse-strings, despite the improved economic climate (see Survey: Data Center Staff in the Dumps).

Enterprise Systems’ study reinforces the findings of a recent Next-gen Data Center Forum poll, which revealed that half of data center managers feel they're underpaid (see Data Center Staff: Show Us the Money).

But it’s not all bad news. Data-center managers can look forward to an average annual bonus of $7,200 this year, which is 9 percent of their typical base salary. Of course, this pales into insignificance compared to the $25,400 average bonus that many CIOs are looking forward to.However, data centers in certain industry sectors are more lucrative than others. For example, data center managers working in the utilities or software sectors are earning $85,600 and $85,300 a year, respectively, according to the research. The growing popularity of Linux is also reflected in the need for data center managers with open source skills.

With more and more companies looking to exploit open source software, demand for Linux-specific skills is obviously growing. A manager working in a data center packed with Linux servers could expect to draw an average salary of $89,900.

Enterprise Systems’ research, which is based on a survey of 1,130 IT sites, covers a range of IT positions. But it seems that if you want to make real money, you will have to start climbing the corporate ladder -- and quickly. The study found that CIOs and vice-presidents have experienced the largest overall increase. Their salaries are now at around $130,000, compared to $110,560 in 2002.

But it could be worse: Systems administrators’ average salary level has declined 9.7 percent over the last two years. Internet managers are typically earning 9.4 percent less than they were in 2002.

— James Rogers, Site Editor, Next-gen Data Center Forum0