Multicore processing and virtualization are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in software development. They are widely used in the commercial world, to reduce Capex and improve Opex. This is being achieved by transitioning from Physical Network Function (PNF) (i.e. on a single purpose hardware & software platform) to a Virtual Network Function (VNF) that are deployable on a wide variety of general purpose hardware and software combination. But as the use cases evolve i.e. say industrial control, medical etc. the need for solutions that are more lightweight & efficient has emerged. This solution brief gives an overview of some of these changes. It includes some use cases where MontaVista offers an optimized solution offering on Arm hardware that better meets such special needs.