Microsoft, Align, Recovery Point, Ntirety Win MSP 501 Special Awards

MSP SUMMIT — Microsoft won three MSP 501 Preferred Vendor awards Wednesday night, while Align, Recovery Point Systems and Ntirety were honored as MSP North American Organizations of the Year at the MSP 501 Gala, part of the MSP Summit in Atlanta.

Other winners at the Gala included MSP North American Executives of the Year Chuck Canton of Sourcepass, Ron Lovern of Triton Networks and Brent Yax of Awecomm; Newcomer of the Year Enitech, Digital Innovator of the Year Single Point Global and Vanguard Dataprise.

Preferred Vendors

The inaugural Preferred Vendor awards were decided by the MSPs according to their responses on the MSP 501 application when we asked them to list their strategic vendor partnerships. We highlighted the finalists among the top vendors across 10 categories in August, and revealed the 10 winners Wednesday night at the MSP 501 Gala.

Microsoft was the preferred vendor for cloud services (including SaaS), product security and network monitoring. It was also a finalist for backup/DR, remote monitoring and management (RMM) software and IT documentation platforms.

Other big winners were ConnectWise, Kaseya and Cisco.

ConnectWise won for RMM and PSA. Kaseya won backup/DR and Kaseya IT Glue won best IT documentation platform. Cisco was the SD-WAN winner, and a finalist in security and network monitoring.

Ingram Micro was the top distributor and Huntress was the No. 1 preferred SaaS security vendor.

“On behalf of Microsoft, I am deeply honored to accept these awards from Channel Futures,” said Julie Sanford, Microsoft’s VP GTM, programs and operations. “At Microsoft, we are committed to delivering cutting-edge solutions that empower our partners to achieve more through innovation and digital transformation. Our partners innovate on our best-in-class platform, extending the value of Microsoft cloud technology across every industry and vertical to deliver on our joint customers desired outcomes.”

Ken Seitz, Cisco’s senior director of partner managed and as-a-service sales, said he was proud that Cisco is a preferred partner. He said Cisco has a “3P MSP strategy – product, preference and platform. Me and the team, we wake up every day trying to earn that preference. That’s why I’m so delighted about the recognition from your award, because we really do try to drive that.”

Seitz said he believes Cisco was a finalist in several categories because it focuses on the “totality of the portfolio. Across collaboration, observability, networking, security and data center, we try to work with our business units to make sure that they're MSP-relevant in terms of features and operational capabilities. And commercially as well.”

The MSP Summit also recognized special awards winners in five categories at the MSP 501 Awards Gala:

MSP Organization of the Year

The MSP Organization of the Year Award goes to companies that stand out for the exceptional delivery of managed services. They demonstrate excellence in business efficiency and agility in the face of an evolving market. These organizations have separated themselves through innovative growth strategies, a keen focus on customers, the value of partnering and motivating their employees. 

The MSP of the Year companies have taken active measures to develop their executives and employees as thought leaders and work to promote their thought leadership. These businesses actively contribute to the growth and quality of life within the organization; their practices contribute to a sense of community and cooperation.   

There were three North American MSP Company of the Year winners, and one international MSP of the Year.

Align: Align stands out as an MSP and MSSP in the financial services sector for its public cloud-focused platform and cybersecurity controls. With a highly specialized and regulated client base, Align must remain on the cutting edge of innovation and adopt the latest technologies and cybersecurity protocols. And in the past eight years, Align has maintained a remarkable client retention rate of over 99%.  

Recovery Point Systems: Recovery Point’s mission is to deliver recovery outcomes that meet its customers' resiliency requirements around the clock, 365 days a year. It is a pure-play provider of DR and resiliency services, with a better than 90% success rate for disaster testing and validation, and nine straight years of Gartner recognition in managed DR service. Recovery Point was No. 6 on the MSP 501.

Ntirety: Along with traditional consulting engagements, Ntirety offers services on demand where customers can purchase blocks of hours to be used on a flexible basis. Ntirety helped an entertainment company right size its public cloud solution and decreased spending by 30%, and helped a health care client conduct a complex migration to a modern infrastructure that met industry compliance while preparing for AI-based solutions.

Akaki Security (international): This Malaysian MSP was built on three key pillars: customer focus, tech excellence and constant innovation. Akati was No. 9 on the MSP 501 this year, based on its proficiency in operating a next-gen security operations center that provides comprehensive and proactive security services. Whether adopting new technologies or developing pioneering processes, Akati pushes the envelope to remain at the forefront of the industry. 

MSP Executive of the Year

The Executive of the Year goes to executives who demonstrate commitment, perseverance, creativity and ingenuity over an entire career. There were three 2024 MSP Executives of the Year in North America, and one international winner.

Brent Yax, CEO Awecomm: Yax has spent 25 years with Awecomm in the MSP and technology channel, and helped Awcomm increase total revenue from $5.8 million in 2022 to more than $6.8 million in 2023, growth driven primarily by recurring revenues from managed services. Awecomm was No. 112 in the 2024 MSP 501.

Chuck Canton, CEO, Sourcepass: Canton was a founder of Sourcepass in 2020, helped it raise $135 million, make 12 acquisitions, and took it from zero revenue in 2021 to $120 million run-rate revenue by the end of 2023. Sourcepass has a $400 million valuation, and is aiming for $1 billion in five years. Sourcespass was No. 184 on the 2024 MSP 501.

Ron Lovern, EVP, Triton Networks: Lovern has more than 25 years of experience in the communications business. With Triton, he has created business entities such as the Triton One Solutions cloud and integration platform, Triton Connected Communities mobility and IoT for 5G and end user platforms, and Triton Security Services. Triton was No. 32 on the 2024 MSP 501.

Luke Fong, CEO, Lateral Plains: Under Fong’s leadership, Lateral Plains of Australia increased revenue by 40% year-on-year for the past three years. Fong has a passion for mentoring, and employees praise him for fostering a culture that promotes work-life balance, prioritizes an enjoyable working environment, supports professional and personal growth, and values mental health. 

Newcomer of the Year

The Newcomer Award honors an organization appearing on the MSP 501 list for the first time. This company represents the new guard of managed services provider poised to exert its influence. It has had a unique trajectory and journey to the MSP 501, led by an entrepreneur focused on tech innovation, service and customer success. 

Enitech, No. 394 on the MSP 501, won the Newcomer award. Its founder Antwine Jackson impressed our judges with his ability to build an MSP from the ground up – along with his wife and business partner Jessica Jackson - with a model based on relationships with highly competitive clients, landing and expanding nationally. 

Digital Innovator of the Year

The Digital Innovator award goes to a company that demonstrates excellence in intellectual property development in cloud, security, AI, industry-focused solutions or other emerging areas. The Digital Innovator has developed a product or service that advances the productivity and potential of business applications. It has innovated in the areas of functionality, pricing and/or to gain a competitive advantage.  

Single Point Global, No. 116 on the MSP 501, won the Digital Innovator award for its innovative MySPG Portal. MySPG provides real-time reporting and analytics to present clients with the data they need, when they need it to make business decisions that drive value. 

The Vanguard Award

The Vanguard award goes to a company that is at the forefront of technology and service innovation — cloud, security, AI, 5G, etc. — in the managed services and technology channel. Vanguards have used innovation and original thinking to meet clients’ needs and contributed to their own financial success.  

The 2024 Vanguard, Dataprise, distinguished itself through groundbreaking implementations of artificial intelligence and advanced digital services. Dataprise’s AI and cloud integration innovations include an Azure AI practice in collaboration with Microsoft with includes a Copilot practice, implementation of proprietary AI systems, and it became the first Veeam Cloud Solution Partner to deliver DRaaS with Continuous Data Protection. Dataprise was No. 95 on the MSP 501.