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MSP 501 Application is Live, Open Doors for your Business

By Dave Raffo | March 6, 2025

The 2025 MSP 501 application process is open, presenting an opportunity for blue-chip managed service providers to retain their standing among the best while others jump onto the list for the first time.

While many elite MSPs have become regulars on the MSP 501, there is plenty of room for newcomers. In 2024, 135 MSPs made the prestigious list for the first time. The honor for those first-timers opened the door to engage new clients and expand their funding and partnership opportunities.

“It’s given us credibility,” said Enitech CEO Antwine Jackson, whose 16-person company ranked No. 394 last year in its first year on the MSP 501. “So now when we go after those bigger clients, I can refer to this list to show that we are one of the best and one of the brightest and one of the top players. The other thing I'll say is it's given us opportunities with vendors,  M&A opportunities and financing opportunities. So that part has also been pretty cool. Also, making the list helped our team elevate our status and our standards. It has been good for morale for the whole team because it now shows the work you’re putting in pays off and we’re one of the top players.”

Jackson’s Enitech was named MSP 501 Newcomer of the Year last year.

“I feel like the MSP 501 has always been one of the most sought-after awards because of its history and reach,” Jackson said. “It's always been something I've aspired to because that list existed when I started my MSP [in late 2021]. It's always been the list that I’ve wanted to make it onto.”

Antwine Jackson

Luke Fong, CEO of Australian MSP Lateral Plains, said after making the list at No. 474 for the first time in 2024, his company is set to expand to new markets outside its home country.

“Being part of the MSP501 is so much more than just being a name in a list,” Fong said. “It has opened up pathway and opportunities that Lateral Plains has never seen before. Making the list for the first time validated the hard work our team has performed and we are proud to be on that list.”

All channel partner business models that have an MSP business, including pure-play MSPs, MSSPs, VARs that offer managed services, IT consultants, technology advisors, systems integrators and solution providers are eligible. Applicants are also eligible for the MSP 501 Next Generation awards for the most innovative MSPs. Smaller MSPs should also apply because we use the MSP 501 application to select an MSPs to Watch list for MSPs that don’t meet the revenue threshold but are growing fast.

We also have MSP 501 special awards, such as MSPs of the Year, MSP Executives of the Year, Lifetime Achievement, Vanguard and Newcomer of the Years. You have to be in it to win it, though, so get those applications in. The application closes April 30. You can find the 2024 MSP 501 winners here.

The MSP 501 and other winners will be announced on Channel Futures, beginning in mid-June. The MSP 501, NextGen, MSPs to Watch and all special award winners will be invited to a gala awards and recognition dinner held at the MSP Summit in Orlando.

 

MSP 501 Methodology

We review managed IT service providers' financials provided by applicants that examine annual revenue, recurring revenue as a percentage of total, year-over-year growth, and how much gets invested back into the company to fuel growth. We also look at the type of managed services sold. We do not disclose individual financials that are not otherwise made public, although we do publish aggregates from all applicants and MSP 501 winners.

We use the information to identify high-performance managed services providers. Large, diversified companies submit the operating data specific to their managed services division or business to ensure a level playing field against pure-play MSPs. 

To judge MSP 501 candidates, we use a proprietary algorithm that weighs revenue streams according to their importance to modern business models and forward-thinking managed services strategies. Overall revenue accounts for 50% of each MSP's score, but that 50% is broken down and weighted to favor value-added services versus resale. Each year we tweak the weights and criteria to reflect the way MSP business models change. In 2025 we have dropped our profitability metric, instead focusing more on investment to avoid penalizing companies who put money back into their business. 

Shorter 2025 MSP 501 Application

We streamlined the application this year to make it easier for applicants to fill out.

Here is a list the main changes this year:

  • Shortened the survey by taking out demographic questions that weren’t used for the rankings
  • We do not require EBITDA numbers, although we do give extra credit for MSPs who disclose their profit. We asked how much MSPs are investing back in the business. We did this so companies heavily investing in growth are not penalized for lowering their profits.
  • Slightly modified our list of preferred/strategic vendor categories. We now ask for preferred vendors in cybersecurity, cloud IaaS and SaaS, AI, RMM/PSA, managed backup/DR and distributors/marketplaces.

Remember, the application closes April 30.

 

Luke Fong