Honestly, it's not that hard to set up a server, and furthermore, it's just not that different to maintain a hard server than a virtual server.
And the most important part: when you have your own hardware, you at least maintain control over every aspect of your systems. The value of this cannot be overstated.
it's just not that different to maintain a hard server than a virtual server
I'm guessing you haven't used Heroku. Server setup is "git push master".
you at least maintain control over every aspect of your systems
There are still plenty of things you don't control - network feeds to your cage, continuous power, bugs and failures in the hardware you buy. You cannot provision new systems without either buying machines or having a hot standby, and somebody needs to make a trip to the cage. If you're getting hardware by the month from a service, you will probably have faster turnaround (hours not days), but once again you're giving up some control.
Honestly, it's not that hard to set up a server, and furthermore, it's just not that different to maintain a hard server than a virtual server.
And the most important part: when you have your own hardware, you at least maintain control over every aspect of your systems. The value of this cannot be overstated.