I don't think that the core of the article is about pros&cons of the managed/unmanaged/virtualized/dedicated server/service approach, but about "why it would be

I don't think that the core of the article is about pros&cons of the managed/unmanaged/virtualized/dedicated server/service approach, but about "why it would be a good idea to have your own dedicated or virtualized server (at least for a while), which is to assimilate know-how" (which can then be used in more abstract setups). The total flexibility of such a server (compared to un/managed services) is a (great) bonus (not only at the beginning).