It’s that time of year in the channel. Channel Futures has opened the application process for the global 2023 MSP 501 along with nominations for this year’s special awards for MSP of the Year, Executive of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and more. You can see a full list of the MSP 501 Special Awards here.

Inclusion in the MSP 501 has long been considered one of the highest and most prestigious honors in the entire channel because of its rigorous application process. The MSP 501 honors managed service providers who have achieved the highest levels of performance based on their financials and business model focus.

As part of this year’s Channel Futures MSP 501 application, organizations will also be considered for the Channel Future NextGen 101 list of emerging channel partners who represent the future of the MSP market.

How the Data Is Used

The data collected in the application process fuels Channel Futures’ editorial coverage of key market trends, challenges and opportunities in the managed services space. It also provides benchmark information for MSPs around the world to use in measuring their performance against their peers and competitors. The aggregate data and trends are highly prized among vendors, communications and technology suppliers, and others to understand how these partner organizations are serving small, midsized and enterprise customers.

Companies included on this list represent innovative and influential market leaders providing managed services to today’s most demanding customers around the world. These organizations stand out among an astounding number of applicants who pride themselves on their technical talent, growth-oriented business models and strategic partnerships with industry-leading vendors and tech suppliers.

Channel Futures will recognize this year’s MSP 501 then use the list to create derivative listings spotlighting the industry’s fastest-growing partners, woman- or minority-owned, highest performing cloud and security MSPs and top regional players. In addition, we will recognize the top executives who run these innovative organizations.

The collective metrics and company performance data we receive give everyone in the industry a look at the inner workings of today’s MSPs based on actual financial data and business behavior. The financial data disclosed in the application and survey is kept confidential. Findings are shared only in aggregate to identify overall trends, averages and meaningful data. The data allows us to benchmark MSP performance, honor each organization’s performance and understand how MSPs rank as compared to their peers. This list is used by leading vendors and distributors to better understand the channel; customers use it to decide which partners can best meet their IT needs.

New and Improved for 2023

This year’s survey includes a number of changes. These were made as part of an overhaul to extract information more closely tied to recent industry trends along with the evolution and diversity of channel partner model. For instance, we added more questions around MSP cloud activity, such as the services they wrap around the hyperscalers and other cloud providers with channel programs geared toward the MSP community. Given how M&A has impacted the MSP landscape, the application also contains more questions around the intent to grow via acquisition.

A group of leading experts worked closely with the Channel Futures editorial team to revise this year’s questionnaire to better serve the industry. The MSP 501 ranks managed service providers based on their financial performance with weighting based on profitability, high-value revenue, sales per employee, the services mix and, of course, profitability. In years past, we have collected gross profit information. We have changed the profitability benchmark to EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization.)

Over the next few weeks, readers of Channel Futures will have the opportunity to apply for the MSP 501. As mentioned earlier, the deadline for applications is April 20. We will begin revealing the 2023 MSP 501 on Monday, June 12.

Please mark your calendar for Oct. 30-Nov. 2 to join peers, vendors and industry leaders for the Channel Leadership Summit in Miami where we will honor the 2023 MSP 501 during a gala awards ceremony. To be notified when registration for the fall event opens, sign up here.

A Few Takeaways

Here are a few of the data nuggets from the 2022 Channel Futures MSP 501 application process: