The AWS instance is very predictable, in operation and cost, and that's valuable to business. If your unique snowflake in your own datacenter (don't forget to

The AWS instance is very predictable, in operation and cost, and that's valuable to business. If your unique snowflake in your own datacenter (don't forget to factor in the physical space and your datacenter personel into your costs) doesn't work well, it can mean replacement, additional costs and downtime. If the AWS instance has a hickup, terminate and replace (I'm not saying that's going to be trivial either at a 2TB RAM instance size). A big hunk of hardware of your own also represents significant CapEx and a depreciating asset for business. Spinning this monster up costs you $13 to start testing immediately, and you can walk away from it at any time. That's worth a lot.