Last I checked, just one AWS database instance would cost us $20k+/year if we pre-paid for a reserved instance, and that doesn't include all the usage-based fee

Last I checked, just one AWS database instance would cost us $20k+/year if we pre-paid for a reserved instance, and that doesn't include all the usage-based fees (storage, iops). And it's only a headache if you dislike spending two days in the car / colo / car / colo.