Is host virtualization for everyone?

Corporations often use host virtualization as a way to split one bigger and powerful server machine into set of easy manageable custom smaller servers without hardware mess. For software developers there is a way to test their software in various target environments, that are easy to set up on one testing box. Home and office users often use it boot two different systems at once to get what it gives best to improve productivity.

On the other hand virtualization separates OS from real hardware. This is tempting to have unchanged hardware environment for long time support systems. What will be problem with your customized perfectly working system in the next 5 years or later? New hardware solutions arrive at crazy pace. Your hardware platform probably will not be supported soon. And there will be differences that cause most of installed Operating Systems to be reinstalled or reconfigured again. So if you are looking for cutting the cost of future hardware adaptation, think about future machines preconfigured to use host virtualization. There are of course more usable cases for use of virtualization.

From historical point of view there is convergence of PC and server hardware platforms. Do you remember Amiga or Atari PCs? What about Apple computers- what is the difference between new Mac and other off-shelf Intel PC? Operating systems are trying to hide and abstract hardware differences. The final difference gap can be hidden under virtual machine host.

I'm looking forward for even better virtualization solutions.