Math is against Google. To succeed they really have to convince businesses that their IT department is not worth it.
Say you have a small mom and pop operation with a total of 8 employees, including yourself. Looking at two scenarios over a five year period, buying is the way to go. First scenario, you use Google's model of two computers for $28 per month and assume no replacements are ever needed. In the second scenario, you buy two cheapo computers at $300 a piece and then buy two more every year (1 to add capacity, 1 as a replacement as they break).
Google:
- 2 devices at the start, 2 devices at the end of 5 years
- cost = $3360 (2 devices x $28 per month x 60 months)
Buy yourself:
- 2 devices at the start, 2 more each year (1 to replace a broken computer, 1 to use) for a total of 10 computers bought, 6 are usable.
- cost = $3000 ($300 per computer x 10)
And these computers can be cannibalized or repurposed as print servers, file servers, used to run legacy software for accessing now defunct prioritary archives, sold or donated, etc.
Buying, physically at least, you get more for less.