Opteron is just the first piece of the puzzle. AMD has a lot more work to do on the marketing and promotion of its platform. The development cycle is going to be long for 64-bit applications, irrespective of how quickly AMD gains support. Even the announcement from Microsoft doesn't necessarily accelerate that process. It's was an absolutely necessary step.

Application developers are going to want a lot more convincing before they invest development resources, and AMD can't match Intel's clout here so, the question is, will Opteron's build an installed base as 32-bit platforms? Or, will it be the Clawhammer/Athlon that will actually give AMD an installed base of 64-bit computer users that it can flaunt in the face of its developers.

If AMD wants the server market and the enterprise and the Tier One OEMs that serve that enterprise, it needs to find a way to gain acceptance for Opteron with what is out there. Linux, 32-bit apps, etc. all figure. On top of that, AMD has to be very aggressive in it evangelism and mustn't end up losing the premium pricing and positioning on Opteron.

A volume server solution is not what AMD needs with Opteron. AMD needs Big Iron wins. Opteron may be just a branding exercise for now, but it matches Intel toe-to-toe on Xeon and Itanium. That's not a bad way for AMD to go about winning blue chip customers.