A Toronto-headquartered software solutions company has been named a top solution provider in the business by a leading magazine.

Softchoice was named Computer Dealer News’ (CDN) Top 100 Solution Providers list for 2016. It is the eighth time Softchoice has earned a No. 1 spot on CDN’s annual ranking.

Joel Hoidas, the company's communications manager, explained why he thinks the firm was named No. 1, crediting its success as a solution provider "to our history of investing ahead of the IT adoption curve."

"We pride ourselves on staying ahead of the technology trends that are shaping the business world, ensuring that we have the right people, the right capabilities and the best offerings to help our customers achieve a modern and enabling IT organisation," Hoidas told Toronto Business Daily.

The company has recently concentrated on helping customers make the journey to hybrid information technology and cloud adoption.

"We are very proud of the fact that we are the No. 1 Microsoft Azure partner in all of North America," Hoidas said. "And we are especially proud of our Keystone Managed Services, which provide 24/7 technical and mentorship support for customers."

Hoidas said managed services is the company's fastest growing service. 

"We’ve found as technology becomes even more complex, IT departments can’t possibly staff every single skillset required," he said. "Helping our customers to fill those skill gaps through managed services is our fastest growing area of the business."

In addition, David MacDonald, Softchoice’s former president and CEO, was handed a CDN Lifetime Achievement Award for his work over 16 years with the company.  The award also recognised his leadership of the Information Technology Association of Canada executive committee.

McDonald joined Softchoice in 2001 and turned the company from a software direct marketer to an IT solutions and managed services provider. Softchoice employs 1,600 people and has annual revenues of over $1 billion. He retired in February but remains on the board of directors.

“It’s an unexpected but great honour to receive this award tonight,” MacDonald said in a statement. “Leading this company has been my professional life’s work, and I could not be more proud of how far we’ve come over the years, and the impact we’ve made working hand-in-hand with our customers and vendor partners to create better communities through technology.”