Pax8 drew an influential master agent executive to its team, and VMware scored another big SD-WAN recognition this week.

Our latest weekly wrap contains a mix of personnel announcements, market research, industry awards, M&A rumors and layoffs. Our editors were hard at work this week, scouring the news wires, interviewing executives and launching a new channel chief recognition. We rolled out the Top Gun 51, which names several dozen of the channel’s most successful leaders.

We compiled a list of our seven biggest stories for you, our dear readers, to read and consider. Stay cool this weekend.

7. 8×8, Cisco, Microsoft Key Players in Exploding Contact Center Software Market

Fortune Business Insights predicted major growth for the lucrative contact center market in its latest study.

The study projected the market to total $48 billion by the end of 2026. It was $16.7 billion in 2018, according to Fortune Business Insights.

Edward Gately has the scoop.

6. Broadcom-Symantec Acquisition Talks Come to ‘Head Scratcher’ End

A seemingly done-deal fell through the cracks.

Neither company is currently talking to the press about what happened, but we learned through a CNBC report that they are no longer discussing the approximately $15 billion deal. The chipmaker would have acquired the cybersecurity provider.

Symantec would not accept a bid of less than $28 per share, according to a CNBC report.

Read about the latest developments.

5. CNSG Hires Award-Winning Windstream, Nitel Alumnus

Chris Shubert, who has worked more than 20 years for vendors, joined the North Carolina-based master agent.

CNSG hired Shubert as its vice president of business development. He brings experience working with Windstream, Nitel and Telnes. He said in an announcement that the time had come to “ride the digital transformation wave to untold levels of success” with CNSG.

I wrote a bit about Shubert’s celebrated channel career.

4. Intelisys’ Pryfogle Jumps to Pax8 to Lead Channel Convergence Charge

Andrew Pryfogle left Intelisys to join the distributor Pax8.

He was the vice president of cloud transformation at Intelisys and will now serve as chief market development officer. His aim at Pax8 is to help the company merge the MSP and telco agent channels.

ScanSource, which owns Intelisys, thanked Pryfogle in a statement.

Lynn Haber interviewed Pyfogle and Pax8’s chief revenue officer.

3. Telecom-IT Layoff Tracker: AT&T, Oracle, Ribbon Communications, SAP

Technology sector unemployment may have recently hit a 20-year low, but plenty of channel-facing companies have announced “workforce reductions” this year. CompTIA reported that telecommunications companies shed 500 jobs in June.

We compiled a list of layoffs and “restructuring initiatives” that contains some big names. And it’s not just telcos that are shedding employees. IBM, Intel and Rackspace were among the vendors that trimmed their workforce in the first half of 2019.

Take a stroll through Edward Gately’s gallery.

2. VMware Dominates Latest SD-WAN Leaderboard, Leads Cisco, Aryaka

The top four SD-WAN providers remained constant, according to an IHS Markit tracker.

VMware holds about 20% of the market, ahead of Cisco and Aryaka. Oracle, which acquired Talari Networks last year, entered the leaderboard for the first time.

IHS Markit posts quarterly updates on the SD-WAN market. The research firm noted that successful vendors are tailoring their solutions to the increasingly mobile workforce.

Catch up on the latest SD-WAN rankings.

1. Top Gun 51 Channel Executives: Did Your Top Supplier Make the Cut?

An expert panel named our industry’s most respected leaders.

Our inaugural channel chief list went live this week, honoring executives from Nitel, SolarWinds, 8×8 and other companies. We asked three analysts, six master agents and three distributors to nominate the winners.

The three criteria were channel advocacy, commitment to partners and trustworthiness.

Take a look at our 51 winners.