I'm assuming it's a more work than just connecting your local router up to the servers right?

Not really, assuming what you are trying to do isn't being subverted by your ISP.

That being said, cloud hosting is a race to the bottom in terms of cost - I wouldn't host locally ever again.

Colocation is also pretty cheap (I've seen ~$30-40/mo 1U w/ capped gigabit connections/no real power constraints, locally)