Overall, we picked a total of eight award categories for this year’s editor’s choice awards and have expanded on a few of those in greater detail in this special Behind the Cloud blog section.

If you’re just stumbling upon this entry, make sure you go back to read in depth about our selection process with added material about the key category winners, including Platform Computing, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Novell, and Microsoft.

Below are some notes on rationale, winner details and photo highlights from the awards presentation, which took place in Santa Clara during the run of this year’s Cloud Expo event in Santa Clara.

2010 Cloud Networking Innovator: Mellanox Technologies

Mellanox is a leader in high-performance computing networking and continues to play a leading role in the space as the cloud emerges as a more prevalent paradigm in industry and for technical computing users. The company has demonstrated a commitment to improving latency issues to make the cloud more suitable for HPC and has been an outspoken proponent of several side issues related to a healthy cloud ecosystem.

Brian Sparks from Mellanox was on hand in Santa Clara to accept the award from our publisher Tom Tabor (right) and Associate Publisher, Isaac Lopez, on behalf of his company, which has been a leader in high-performance long before cloud computing was on the tip of every techie’s tongue.

We are also keeping a close eye on this company following its recent announcement of the Beijing Public Cloud Computing Center–a big story as China holds the top spot in the Top500 (barring any complete surprises at SC this year) yet has been lagging a bit behind the West in terms of cloud initiatives.

2010 Cloud Ecosystem Innovator: CA Technologies

CA Technologies has been a leader in making the cloud more manageable and accessible with its solutions both from this year and from prior years. We have been able to talk to a number of their end users as well as take a peek into some of their research pertaining to cloud and feel that they are well positioned to grow over the coming year.

The company’s focus on security within the context of mainframe and distributed computing use within the enterprise have made it a company to watch for the ecosystem of cloud development and its longevity in the marketplace has only strengthened over the years—and will continue to do as it has been playing a major role in the new paradigm of cloud.

Furthermore, the company straddles the border between enterprise and HPC focus and as such, has garnered broader appeal with focused products. As a company, CA is forthcoming with case studies and real-world practical information that is disseminated to help potential cloud users more aware of the multiple issues they face with migration and cloud use.

2010 Enterprise Cloud Leader: CSC

Enterprise support for creating, maintaining and understanding cloud computing infrastructure and enterprise-specific needs is crucial and a few companies have stepped up to the plate in recent years to fill the role of experts.

CSC is the enterprise cloud leader of 2010 due to growing interest in its range of solutions for enterprise users. For enterprise users, CSC provides the full host of cloud services, from general strategy to help with identifying workload requirements.

CSC was on our radar this year as it led the effort to migrate the City of Los Angeles to Google Apps in addition to other large-scale implementation projects. For the enterprise user, CSC can provide guidance to allow for the selection of the right cloud solution based on individual needs.

This award was presented again, by Tom Tabor and Isaac Lopez during their rounds to present the placards at Cloud Expo.

2010 Cloud Management Innovator: Rightscale

RightScale is a global leader in cloud computing management and has been experiencing well-deserved, strong growth since its inception just a few short years ago.

The company has provided several compelling use cases of its automated cloud management platform that allows enterprise and technical users to take full advantage of the cost-effective benefits of cloud, particular in terms of on-demand access and scalability.

We look forward to watching RightScale continue to develop in terms of technology and leadership and to new use cases that highlight the role and value of cloud management platforms.

On the Horizon for 2011

Only time will tell how the broader cloud computing movement will shift over the next year and what (or who) will be on our radar in time for consideration for the 2011 HPC in the Cloud Editors’ Choice awards.

We encourage your input throughout the year, particularly if you are an end user of a cloud computing service. Thanks for tuning into our coverage of the awards and for what has been thus far an amazing first year in this evolving space.

Now, time to pack for SC10! Will I be seeing you there? Oh good….

If you’re in New Orleans, keep an eye out for us and do say “hello” — (pictured left; Nicole Hemsoth, Genia Kushner (middle), Tom Tabor (right).