And Microsoft has proven to its customers that the Cloud is a toy and not reliable enough for business-critical systems, so everything should return to the (Mcrosoft-dominated and less competitive) status quo.
Maybe it's just accidental downtime. But Microsoft is not exactly competitive in the cloud computing world (unless you need to run Windows apps) - I don't think it's in their interests for this movement to succeed in the business world.
Why is it better to host your own? Do you honestly believe a single cheap server running Exchange 2003 in an unlocked closet of an office secured with Kwikset locks, running on grid power with maybe a 5-minute UPS but definitely no generators, with maybe a single T1 but more likely business DSL, with no alternate location to fail over to, serviced by a company who might not be able to schedule a tech to deal with you for 5+ hours IF you're calling 8am-5pm on a weekday, is more reliable than a company like Google?
I'm not exaggerating. This is really what small business IT looks like.
If you have the money to do at least 2 geographically separate datacenters properly, secure them with guards, cameras, and biometric or at least electronic access controls, get redundant backbone connections from different Tier 1 providers, and you have enough talent to develop appropriate processes/procedures as well as properly identify and hire other talented people, and you can pay them enough to keep them happy and your equipment modern and functioning, then congratulations, host your own. But if you meet these criteria, you are more likely to be a competitor to Google than a consumer.
/rant. Sorry. All this talk about how the cloud is too risky for businesses drives me up the wall. I understand that it feels good to be responsible for your own failures, but when you are a business, it is not about what feels good, it's about what works.
Maybe it's just accidental downtime. But Microsoft is not exactly competitive in the cloud computing world (unless you need to run Windows apps) - I don't think it's in their interests for this movement to succeed in the business world.