There are several options between "full cloud" and "building my own datacenter": for example, you can rent dedicated servers by the month, where you get all of

There are several options between "full cloud" and "building my own datacenter": for example, you can rent dedicated servers by the month, where you get all of the hardware power and you don't have to commit money upfront. The 2 extremes you cite might be good for some people in a narrow set of contexts, it makes sense to include other possibilities when evaluating your hosting options.