9 PART 5 Cloud provider evaluation Among the most important considerations are the security,privacy,and availability/reliability capabilities of the service provider.Good questions to ask are: ͓ ͓What sort of authentication and authorization platforms does the provider offer? ͓ ͓Do they offer information protection? ͓ ͓What type of encryption technology does the provider use and what is encrypted? ͓ ͓What kind of firewalls do they use to protect infrastructure? ͓ ͓Which directory services platform do they have? ͓ ͓What compliance provisions does the provider have in place? Pro tip: Companies need to align their business needs with the selection while also considering challenges that might be posed by using that particular provider. It’s important to understand that one provider might not meet all the needs of the organization. Enterprises also need to note that not all regions within a single provider offer the same services and capabilities.