Internet News is asking whether virtualization will spell doom for server sales:

The promise behind virtualization has long been that one well-equipped server could do the work of several. So what happens once customers begin following that idea -- and buying fewer servers?

That scenario is cause for concern, according to industry analyst Infiniti Research. This week, the firm published a study indicating that server sales will trail off in coming years, and even decline, as virtualization reduces the need for physical hardware.

It's a popular theory: people consolidate servers and will need fewer servers. Of course this is true. But people will continue buying new servers and higher-end servers for quite a while.