Channel Partners' 15 Most-Read Stories of 2019: Layoffs, Bankruptcies, SD-WAN

Another decade – by my count, the 202nd A.D. – is almost in the books — and what a year it was for technologies and companies doing business in the channel.

When the calendar flipped over last January, I don’t think anyone foresaw bankruptcies in the future for no less than three big names — Windstream, Sungard Availability Services and Fusion Connect. While Sungard AS bounced back rather quickly, emerging from chapter 11 in just 24 hours, it’s been a longer process for Windstream and Fusion. Both companies have been busy reassuring their partner communities that they’ll emerge stronger than before and their channel programs will remain steadfast.

A mammoth deal between Avaya and RingCentral is expected to change the landscape around one of the channel’s hottest technologies — unified communications as a service. Avaya spurned suitors that wanted to buy the company in favor of a mega-deal with RingCentral.

And speaking of technology, SD-WAN was smoking hot again in 2019, with no end in sight. You were desperate to keep up with which vendors were on top and the sales techniques that could help you rake in the cash.

These were just a few of the most-read stories on our website in the past year. We invite you to scroll through our countdown below to see which was No. 1 and the other breaking news that interested you and your peers the most in 2019.