Data classification is the first consideration when deciding whether data should be moved to a cloud provider for storage because it determines the level of protection and security required for the data. Data classification also helps to identify the legal and regulatory requirements that apply to the data, such as privacy, retention and disposal policies. Data storage costs, vendor cloud certification and service level agreements (SLAs) are important factors to consider, but they are secondary to data classification. References: CISAReview Manual (Digital Version) 1, Chapter 5, Section 5.3.2