Depends on how you look at it. If you accept that your own abilities are also limited and that you might make costly mistakes, you might conclude that the total

Depends on how you look at it. If you accept that your own abilities are also limited and that you might make costly mistakes, you might conclude that the total downtime will probably be the same. Say X hours per year. The difference is that if you use Amazon, you don't have to spend X hours (even if those hours are in the middle of the night) running around fixing it, someone else does this. Then, when you need to explain why, you have an easier time too. There is the 'no one got fired for buying IBM' spect to it, but there is also genuine peace of mind.