The cloud promise vs reality
A decade ago, the pitch was simple: move everything to AWS, Google Cloud, or Azure. Don’t worry about servers. Just deploy and scale.
For many, that promise delivered. But for others, the reality has been different:
- Unpredictable bills that spike without warning
- Proprietary services that don’t exist anywhere else
- Complexity that requires specialized expertise
- Dependency on a single provider for everything
The result? A growing movement of developers and companies moving back to self-hosted infrastructure.
What is vendor lock-in?
Vendor lock-in happens when your application becomes dependent on services that only exist within one provider’s ecosystem.
Examples from AWS alone:
- Lambda: Serverless functions with AWS-specific triggers
- DynamoDB: NoSQL database with proprietary APIs
- SQS/SNS: Message queues tied to AWS infrastructure
- API Gateway: HTTP routing integrated with other AWS services
- Aurora: MySQL/PostgreSQL “compatible” but with AWS-specific features
Once you build on these services, migrating away means rewriting significant parts of your application. That’s the lock-in.
Google Cloud and Azure have their own versions: Cloud Functions, Firestore, Cloud Pub/Sub, and dozens of others.
The hidden costs of “managed” services
Managed services seem convenient until you see the bill.
Consider a simple example: a PostgreSQL database.
| Option | Monthly cost (rough estimate) |
|---|---|
| AWS RDS (db.t3.medium) | $60-100+ |
| Google Cloud SQL | Similar range |
| Self-hosted on a VPS | $20-40 for the entire VPS |
The managed service costs more, and you get less control. Need to tune a PostgreSQL setting that the provider doesn’t expose? Too bad.
Multiply this across databases, caches, queues, and other infrastructure, and the difference becomes substantial.
Why developers are self-hosting again
The self-hosting movement isn’t about nostalgia. It’s practical:
1. Cost predictability
A VPS with fixed resources costs the same every month. No surprises. No usage-based billing that spikes during traffic bursts. You know exactly what you’re paying.
2. Portability
Standard tools work everywhere:
- PostgreSQL runs on any Linux server
- Redis is the same whether on AWS or your own VPS
- Docker containers deploy anywhere
- Nginx configuration transfers between providers
Build with open-source tools, and you can move to any provider, or run on-premises, without rewriting code.
3. Simplicity
A single well-configured VPS can handle more than most applications need. You don’t need Kubernetes, service meshes, or auto-scaling groups for a business application serving thousands of users.
Sometimes a server running Nginx, PostgreSQL, and your application is all you need.
4. Control
When something breaks at 3 AM, you can SSH into your server and fix it. You’re not waiting for a status page to update or a support ticket to be answered.
5. Privacy and data sovereignty
Your data lives on servers you control, in locations you choose. No questions about which jurisdiction your data passes through or who else can access it.
What self-hosting looks like in 2025
Self-hosting doesn’t mean the 2005 experience of racking physical servers. Modern self-hosting combines:
- VPS providers like ServerPoint that give you virtual servers in minutes
- Infrastructure as code with Ansible, Terraform, or simple shell scripts
- Containerization with Docker for consistent deployments
- Managed backups without the managed database pricing
You get the convenience of cloud computing without the lock-in of proprietary services.
When major clouds still make sense
Self-hosting isn’t right for everyone. The major clouds excel at:
- Massive scale: If you’re handling millions of requests per second
- Global edge networks: CDN and edge computing at hundreds of locations
- Machine learning infrastructure: GPU clusters and pre-trained models
- Compliance certifications: When you need specific regulatory compliance
For startups, small businesses, and most web applications, these features are overkill. A few well-configured VPS instances handle the load just fine.
How to start self-hosting
If you’re considering the move, start small:
1. Identify portable technologies
Replace proprietary services with open-source alternatives:
| Proprietary service | Open-source alternative |
|---|---|
| AWS Lambda | Node.js/Python on a VPS |
| DynamoDB | PostgreSQL or MongoDB |
| SQS | RabbitMQ or Redis |
| S3 | MinIO or direct file storage |
| CloudWatch | Prometheus + Grafana |
2. Start with non-critical workloads
Move a staging environment or internal tool first. Learn the operational requirements before migrating production.
3. Choose a reliable VPS provider
Look for:
- Predictable pricing without hidden bandwidth or API charges
- Multiple locations for geographic redundancy
- Good network connectivity with low latency to your users
- Responsive support when you need help
At ServerPoint, our VPS hosting provides exactly this: straightforward pricing, multiple data centers, and support from people who’ve been doing this for decades.
4. Invest in automation
Write scripts for:
- Server provisioning
- Application deployment
- Backup and restore
- Monitoring and alerting
This investment pays off quickly when you can spin up identical servers in minutes.
The infrastructure independence mindset
The self-hosting movement is really about infrastructure independence. It’s the recognition that:
- Your application shouldn’t be married to one provider
- Standard tools and protocols beat proprietary APIs
- Simpler architectures are often better architectures
- Knowing your infrastructure deeply beats abstracting it away
You don’t have to go all-in. Even moving some workloads to portable infrastructure reduces your dependency and gives you options.
The bottom line
The major cloud providers built amazing technology. But their business model depends on making it hard to leave.
Self-hosting on VPS infrastructure gives you:
- Predictable costs instead of usage-based surprises
- Portability to move between providers
- Control over your entire stack
- Simplicity without unnecessary complexity
The self-hosting movement isn’t anti-cloud. It’s pro-choice: the choice to run your infrastructure wherever makes the most sense for your business.
Ready to try self-hosted infrastructure? Explore our VPS plans.