Getting a basic Drupal install isn’t overly complicated – but it does require you to have some experience with PHP/MySQL. Also, a little Apache config, particularily in regards to mod_rewrite can be quite handy. The difficulty is in installing, configuring and maintaining all the subsequent modules that make Drupal so insanely powerful – it takes time, and usually requires some development experience.

Personally, although I’ve installed, configured and moderately maintained a Drupal site – I would not go through the experience again. I’ve got better things to do with my time than learn PHP/MySQL/Apache and the Drupal ‘framework’. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I did it as I learned a lot – and I think Drupal is quite amazing, but I’d rather host Drupal sites painlessly using Bryght (http://bryght.com) and let them worry about the install, config and maintenance.