11:15 PM – Even though Google is a software company, for its own personal use, the company makes its own custom hardware to satisfy its own needs. The company designs its own data centers, but bases things off of other companies, such as Intel. Even in the mobile business, the company uses other company’s hardware paired up with its software. According to a new report from Bloomberg, a person involved in the matter says that Google may be looking to change that.
A prime example comes to mind is Apple. The Cupertino giant has already moved away from using different company’s processing power and now uses its own custom-designed chips. For example, the iPhone 5s contains the A7 64-bit processor that the company designed itself. This allows for the company to make the hardware work alongside the software painlessly, and making any tweaks necessary to run everything in best performance.
Google is looking to do exactly the same. By designing its own chips based on ARM, the company can make all the necessary changes it wants to run everything at best performance.
Bloomberg reports:
By using its own designs, Google could better manage the interactions between hardware and software, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Google, among the largest buyers of server processors, has made no decision and plans could change, said the person.
“We are actively engaged in designing the world’s best infrastructure,” said Liz Markman, a spokeswoman for Google. “This includes both hardware design (at all levels) and software design.” Markman declined to say whether the company may develop its own chips.
Google is Intel’s fifth largest customer and account for 4.3% of its revenue. This would cause some stir in Intel and potentially damage quite a bit of its business. It’s safe to assume that Intel is already looking to make up for the difference, if Google does indeed move away.
The unnamed source said that nothing is set in stone yet. Google may or may not move away from Intel. The company is weighing its options to see which is the best route to take. Of course the custom chip route isn’t the easiest option since it would require the company to spend more time and resources to designing chips, but Google is a hard working company with a lot of talent.
It’s possible for Google to make the move, isn’t it?
