>Ops. Unless your core competency is running reports and spark nodes, it's probably cheaper to outsource the management of Spark and friends than to hire people to make sure it's always up and running.

I think as an end user I would absolutely agree on this point. But many companies use Databricks as part of their automated backend systems that they resell to customers. The cost per "DBU" unit is astronomical for the amount of raw compute in use. It feels a bit like running a restaurant where you serve takeout.