That maintenance problem is sometimes also expensive in terms of service costs. Which is more of a tech debt problem than a cloud comparison, honestly, but they're often inseparable.
Extended support costs on old hardware and software are sometimes astronomical. Then you're paying all of that to get something that, compared to modern gear, performs like ass and just breaks all the time.
I've also had C-suites tell me I have two months to start a project and have all the gear live, but I find we are only allowed to order direct from the manufacturer, and our orders will take 90 days to get to our door. Oh boy. That scenario is difficult to put into terms of money. Sometimes having that one-hop instant supply chain into a cloud service is a huge business enabler, sometimes it's not.
