Will virtualization end up boosting Microsoft and Windows more than Linux?
To the extent that IT shops are Microsoft-centric, the upcoming virtualization capability in Windows Server 2008 (and beyond, given that much of the previously targeted functionality for Server 2008 has been dropped) will enable them to extend the life of aging Windows-based apps. Of course, being able to extend the life of those apps will, to some extent, reduce pressure to migrate those apps to Linux or replace those apps with Linux-based apps. Overall, however, I suspect that the fact that virtualization makes stability much more important (because, after virtualization, more systems run on a single piece of hardware) would tend to tip the balance more toward Linux as it has a greater reputation for stability than Windows.
This was first published in August 2007