You’ve asked and now we are ready to deliver: MSPmentor is proud to announce that the 2016 edition of the MSP 501 will be open for submissions on Feb 25, 2016.

First unveiled in 2007, the MSP 501 is the IT channel’s largest and most comprehensive ranking of leading managed service provider (MSP) organizations worldwide. The 2016 edition includes a number of improvements and refinements to ensure that the annual ranking is the most complete, precise and forward-looking study available on the managed service provider market. This year’s study will examine the business models, technologies, vertical markets and customer segments that MSP companies engage most.

The 2016 MSP 501 will also leverage a new and improved methodology that will be made publicly available for the first time. By making its ranking algorithm known to all, MSPmentor will establish the universal benchmark by which MSP organizations can be compared, year after year.

As everyone in the business knows, the MSP 501 has been the industry’s most widely recognized ranking of leading MSP organizations. For 2016, we have overhauled our methodology to increase transparency and reduce ambiguity. As a result, companies vying to be on the list will understand what makes one organization rank higher than another, and why some capabilities and business models are valued more than others.

To achieve greater accuracy and thoroughness, Penton Technology has teamed up with Clarity Channel Advisors to help produce the 2016 MSP 501 survey. Working with the Clarity Intelligence Platform, MSPmentor will leverage a streamlined method for submitting data this year that not only ensures greater accuracy but also preserves the confidentiality that MSPs who apply for the MSP 501 have come to rely on.

“While the MSP 501 list has always been a reliable barometer of the state of the MSP market, it has lacked a level of precision required to provide a more definitive benchmark,” says Clarity founder and CEO Jim Lippie, who was a former MSP 501 business leader before establishing his data information services company. “Together with Penton, we’re making positive changes to ensure the information collected in the survey is the most comprehensive and verifiable data available anywhere. Doing so will yield more actionable insights that the community can leverage to better run their businesses.”

To participate in the 2016 study, service providers will be invited to the official 2016 MSP 501 site, where they will find a link to the streamlined 501 survey application form. Applications will be accepted from Feb. 25, 2016 through March 31, 2016.

After the survey closes on March 31, MSPmentor and Clarity will tabulate the results and publish the 2016 MSP 501 ranking and report on May 2, 2016.

Whether your company is a full-time MSP or offers managed services in addition to selling cloud services, project-oriented professional services, hardware or consulting, this is your opportunity to stand up and be recognized among the industry’s leading businesses.