Of course, not mentioned by the tech-focused author is the effect of tax law - expenses such as rental (of space or servers) can be written off immediately, whi

Of course, not mentioned by the tech-focused author is the effect of tax law - expenses such as rental (of space or servers) can be written off immediately, while construction of a datacenter, and the purchase of equipment such as servers and switches must follow a depreciation schedule over a number of years. [simplified] Example: $1 million to outsource to a provider = $1 million that can be written off in that year. Build a DC, install servers etc. at capital cost of $2 million and yearly operating costs of $250K - you can only write off perhaps $200K of depreciation plus the $250K in operating costs = $450K per year that can be written off.