They already have a terrible case of NIH syndrome. It is already well accepted at Google to build if you can avoid the buy. Usually, I'd consider that a bad th

They already have a terrible case of NIH syndrome. It is already well accepted at Google to build if you can avoid the buy. Usually, I'd consider that a bad thing. However, they have proven they can write some damn good software. They have also proven that they can run a data center better than anyone else can. Both their internal and external systems are a pleasure to use. NIH is only a problem when it starts to burn you, but that hasn't really happened... yet. Luckily, they count most open source software as a building block. If there already exists a great open source package, they aren't going to completely ignore it for the sake of NIH syndrome. It's about control, not price. Put simply: Google demands more from their hardware and software than any other organization. Moving and sorting bits is their core competency. This seems like a smart move to me.