On Friday, Channel Futures and its sister channel site, Channel Partners, will open the 2019 MSP 501 survey for applications. The survey is the IT channel’s first, largest and most comprehensive ranking of leading managed service providers around the globe. In the last 12 years, the MSP 501 has evolved from a ranking of a handful of partners to an insightful, data-rich full report that does more than name the top MSPs in the world; it shows you how they got there

Last year, we saw a record-shattering number of submissions that represented the diversity of the channel. The 2018 MSP 501 had winners from Colombia to Canada, Sweden to the States, the UK to the UAE. Applicants ranged from one-man shops to organizations of more than 4,000 employees. Rock star managed service providers were joined by traditional VARs, born-in-the-cloud consultancies and, thanks to our Channel Partners readers, an impressive number of telco agents. In total, last year’s 501 reported a combined revenue of $14.5 billion, with nearly $3 billion of that in recurring services.

In 2018, we held the first-ever MSP 501 Gala at the annual Channel Partners Evolution conference. 501ers from around the world traveled to Philadelphia to network, learn and participate in a dinner and awards ceremony. (There may or may not have been a lightsaber-filled afterparty; we’ll never tell.) We’ll host this event again at this year’s conference, Sept. 9-12, in Washington, D.C. To qualify for one of the special awards we hand out at the gala, applicants will fill out a supplementary nomination form. Awards include:

In 2015, we implemented an advanced methodology that represents the nature of managed services. Now in its fourth year, the MSP 501 ranking formula weights different revenue streams according to the impact they have on the health of the overall business. Data will be collected, aggregated and analyzed by the Channel Futures and Channel Partners team, with additional commentary coming from analysts and channel experts.

As in previous years, applicants will be required to provide 2018 financial results and revenue verification in the form of a statement from a certified financial professional.

The MSP 501 will open for applications on March 1, so stay tuned to Channel Futures for updates, FAQs and information on the survey. You can subscribe to the MSP 501 newsletter, which provides information on the 501 as well as the latest trends in the MSP world, on the MSP 501 homepage.