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 data center selection rule includes an action clause, filtering the first plurality of data centers by applying the action clause to generate a second plurality of data centers, determining that the 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 data center selection rule.