>there are also downsides when moving it to your server, more system administration, you have to build your own firewall, take care of security & backup, et
Startup idea right there. But then if I thought of it so quickly, somebody probably already does this.
I agree with the premise of the article but I don't get the India comparison. Sure they might not be a consumerist society, but then maybe services work better there? You can't say the replica fails just because they aren't consumers. It's more like they shouldn't be trying to replicate Silicon Valley but rather build a culture that fits their own society better.