By Nigel Beighton, VP of Technology, International, Rackspace

Choosing a cloud service provider is an important decision for any organisation. Cloud computing plays a central role in many businesses – from startups and SMBs to global companies – and usually involves entrusting service providers with mission-critical data and applications.

To assess potential providers and make the right choice, conducting due diligence across the following areas is essential.

Financials: As the recent closure of Nirvanix shows, it’s crucial to check a prospective provider’s financial position: past, present and future. If they are to be trusted with your data, they need to demonstrate that they have been, and should remain, financially sound.

So look for evidence of financial stability and growth over time; ask them about their financial prospects. Running a data centre requires major ongoing investment of capital, not to mention the substantial labour costs and operational budget. Are they in …