1. A method performed by a computer having a processor and a memory storing a set of data center selection rules, the method comprising: receiving, at the computer, order information from an order management server of a cloud computing system, the order information specifying a customer and a product to be instantiated at at least one data center of the cloud computing system; determining, by the processor, a set of one or more data center selection rules using the order information; and evaluating, by the processor, the set of data center selection rules using a first plurality of data centers associated with the cloud computing system, wherein evaluating the set of data center selection rules comprises: determining that a first data center selection rule of the set of data center selection rules includes an action clause defining one or more actions to take with respect to at least one of the first plurality of data centers, filtering the first plurality of data centers by applying the action clause to generate a second plurality of data centers, determining that the first data center selection rule includes an algorithm clause, and selecting a data center from the second plurality of data centers by applying a selection algorithm identified by the first data center selection rule.