[mikekchar]

> The cloud as a money saving venture is and always has been a damn lie.

When you are in business, saving money is not always the most important thing. In reality, you usually spend 95% of your revenue. The question is not "How much money can we save", but "What investment will bring the greatest return".

It's a bit like buying the building that you are working in rather than renting it. Or hiring full time cleaning staff rather than hiring a firm to take care of it. The second choice is more expensive, but requires less capital/time up front. If you can use that money and time to better effect then it is a no brainer. As companies get bigger, they have less opportunities to make large returns on their money/time, so it often makes sense to start focusing on those smaller returns.

As an aside, this is also why you shouldn't go to your CTO and say, "I can save $X by refactoring/rewriting/testing our code". The CTO can usually always find things that appear to be better ROI opportunities and so you get into a situation where refactoring/rewriting/testing becomes forbidden. Rather you should always attempt to use appropriate techniques to maximise throughput in development and to keep your stake holders happy.