This week we profile the cloud computing strategies of eight tech vendors. As we debated how to describe them on the cover of our magazine -- leaders, stalwarts? -- we settled on "behemoths." That's right, the unifying characteristic is just their bigness.We took this approach by design, because it fits where we are in the evolution and adoption of cloud computing. CIOs get the concept just fine, and most are willing to consider it for their companies. Now they need to know what's practical as well as possible, and how can they adapt what they already do to plug into online computing services. They want to know how the vendors they already work with are defining this model.

Profiling eight vendors provides a look into the many different models that make up cloud computing. We look at where online companies Amazon, Google, and Salesforce are headed next. We also look at conventional vendors, highlighting Oracle's "pod" data-center architecture, IBM's forthcoming "Blue Cloud" data center strategy, and EMC's thinking on putting tasks such as compliance into the cloud. There's also insight from Microsoft, such as an "Internet services bus" to connect online applications, and Sun, which is changing how it thinks about its Network.com service to focus on ease-of-use.

Eight big vendors don't provide a complete picture of cloud computing, but it does offer a way to compare and contrast a number of emerging cloud computing models. Let us know what you think, and how your companies are putting it to work.