AT&T, SD-WAN and MSPs. It was a loaded week of news.

Several important events contributed to our the news extravaganza. Two popular IT conferences (DattoCon and HPE Discover) drew large partner audiences to the Southwest, and the annual MSP 501 awards went live. Finally, we added another feisty union-vs.-telco story that you’ve come to expect from this website.

We’ve compiled our top seven stories from the week of June 17 for your reading pleasure.

7. UC Roundup: Fuze Meeting Survey, Intermedia-Datto, Jabra Conferencing

West Coast workers prefer Thursday at 2 p.m. for meetings, while the East Coast likes Wednesday at 4 p.m.

Those are two conclusions from Fuze‘s latest Communication Index. Edward Gately wrote about the UCaaS provider in his latest column, which includes a Q&A with Fuze’s vice president of market intelligence and news about Intermedia and Jabra.

Take a look at Gately’s roundup.

6. Bigleaf Networks Launches MSP Program for SD-WAN, Courts Datto Partners

SD-WAN was an oft-mentioned topic this week.

Bigleaf formalized its efforts around reaching manged service providers, which must address a couple of specific paint-points and use cases. The vendor launched a partner program for MSPs and announced it at DattoCon, where thousands of MSPs were present.

Get details on the new program.

5. Windstream, Nextiva Alum Joins Telarus to Develop Pacific Northwest

The master agent tapped a new senior partner development manager.

Kirk Avaiusini will recruit and assist partners in Washington and Oregon. He’s already familiar with the partner base as a result of working in channel management with Windstream, Nextiva, Ecessa and Nitel.

The hiring came a week after Telarus announced that it was shifting from a six-region model to three.

Read about the new hire.

4. Just-Released 2019 MSP 501 Rankings Feature the World’s Best

We announced the winners of our popular MSP award.

The MSP 501, which is closely connected to our Channel Futures brand, is final. Brennan IT, Stratosphere Networks and DKBinnovative numbered among the honorees. They faced stout competition; we reported a 35% year-over-year increase in applications.

Craig Galbraith shared the news on our website.

3. AT&T, HPE Create Joint Edge Computing Program, Anticipating 5G

The details are scant, but AT&T and HPE have formed a go-to-market program to enhance two specific offerings.

The program aims to increase adoption of AT&T Multi-access Edge Compute (MEC) services and HPE Edgeline Converged Edge Systems. According to an AT&T executive, having compute power in closer proximity allows for the development of the internet of things (IoT), machine learning and augmented reality.

The companies made the announcement in conjunction with the HPE Discover conference.

Read what we know about the partnership.

2. SD-WAN Roundup: Riverbed Scales up with Versa Networks, Fortinet Launches SD-Branch

The new partnership between Riverbed and Versa breaks the mold as far as SD-WAN partnerships go.

Versa is well-versed in providing a platform for service providers like CenturyLink and Verizon to use, but Riverbed was already selling an SD-WAN solution. The companies are framing the partnership as…… an opportunity for Riverbed to satisfy large enterprise customers while continuing to offer its native solution to the midmarket.

I wrote about the partnership, as well as Fortinet‘s latest offering, in my SD-WAN column.

1. AT&T: Claim of 1,800 Layoffs Is ‘Misleading’

Thousands of AT&T workers are on notice, but the corporation said it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Spokesman Marty Richter said his company offered many of the affected employees similar new jobs or the opportunity to join a “Job Bank Program” and receive up to a year’s severance. AT&T is making a “staff reduction involving technicians,” according to Richter.

An AT&T letter obtained by Ars Technica states that 27 “surplus” employees may take an identical AT&T job in a different location.

Edward Gately has the scoop. (Check out the comment section. Not everyone’s buying what AT&T is selling.)