The hardware-assisted virtualization capability within the AMD Opteron processors allows Data Return to run many more varieties of operating systems in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions on the same base hardware, he says. In the future, additional hardware-assisted abilities within Opteron are expected to include memory translation and virtualized access to I/O devices, he says.

"We're enthusiastic about it," Lochhead says. "When we were first going down this road, virtualization was pretty new, and customers were a little leery of accepting it. But when someone like AMD comes out and says they are putting these technologies into hardware, it's a vote of confidence."

What the future holds

Michael Cote, an analyst at RedMonk, says adding hardware-assisted functions to replace or augment software capabilities will continue to increase this year and next, as mainstream microprocessor manufacturers attempt to differentiate their product lines.

In addition, Cote says, "These capabilities will continue to increase as more IT professionals gain a greater understanding of what is available and the potential benefits."