• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechGoogle

Google Steps Up Its Server Smarts

By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Jonathan Vanian
Jonathan Vanian
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 6, 2016, 6:41 PM ET
Photograph by Bloomberg

Google wants to share its data center hardware smarts with the world.

The search giant said on Wednesday that, along with cloud computing company Rackspace, it’s co-developing new server designs that are based on IBM (IBM) chip technology.

These new server designs are a result of Google’s involvement with the IBM-led OpenPower Foundation, which oversees IBM’s POWER lineup of chip-related technologies available for companies to license and build upon. Google (GOOG) is a founding member of the OpenPower Foundation.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

Eventually, Google will contribute those server blueprints to the Open Compute Project, a Facebook-formed foundation that helps its members share data center hardware designs with each other.

Sharing the server blueprints follows Google’s March decision to join the foundation. The hardware consortium counts big companies like Goldman Sachs (GS), Apple (AAPL), and Samsung as members. Google now joins Facebook (FB) and Microsoft (MSFT) as member companies that have contributed server designs to the consortium, according to the Open Compute Project’s website.

The new server designs are designed to fit with a custom data center rack design that Google is co-developing with Facebook, writes Google hardware engineering manager and OpenPower Foundation director Maire Mahony in a blog post.

For more about Google, watch:

“It won’t surprise anyone to hear that demand for compute at Google has been relentless and it isn’t slowing down any time soon,” Mahony wrote regarding the need for Google to build its own custom hardware to match user demand. “We’ve found 60 trillion web addresses so far, versus one trillion in 2008.”

About the Author
By Jonathan Vanian
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Jonathan Vanian is a former Fortune reporter. He covered business technology, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, data privacy, and other topics.

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 04: Anthropic Co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei speaks at the "How AI Will Transform Business in the Next 18 Months" panel during INBOUND 2025 Powered by HubSpot at Moscone Center on September 04, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Chance Yeh/Getty Images for HubSpot)
InvestingAnthropic
Anthropic considers IPO despite warnings that excess liquidity is blowing a bubble in the markets
By Jim EdwardsDecember 3, 2025
22 minutes ago
NewslettersTerm Sheet
Exclusive: Angle Health raises $134 million Series B to grow its AI-driven healthcare benefits offerings
By Allie GarfinkleDecember 3, 2025
26 minutes ago
Anthropic co-founder and CEO Dario Amodei speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2023 in Park City, Utah. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Anthropic plows toward an IPO
By Andrew NuscaDecember 3, 2025
1 hour ago
MagazineFood and drink
A Chinese ice cream chain, powered by super-cheap cones, now has more outlets than McDonald’s
By Theodora YuDecember 3, 2025
3 hours ago
InnovationBrainstorm Design
Video games can teach designers deeper lessons than ‘high score streaks’ and gamification
By Angelica AngDecember 3, 2025
6 hours ago
LawInternet
A Supreme Court decision could put your internet access at risk. Here’s who could be affected
By Dave Lozo and Morning BrewDecember 2, 2025
15 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Ford workers told their CEO 'none of the young people want to work here.' So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder's playbook
By Sasha RogelbergNovember 28, 2025
5 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Warren Buffett used to give his family $10,000 each at Christmas—but when he saw how fast they were spending it, he started buying them shares instead
By Eleanor PringleDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos commit $102.5 million to organizations combating homelessness across the U.S.: ‘This is just the beginning’
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
21 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Elon Musk says he warned Trump against tariffs, which U.S. manufacturers blame for a turn to more offshoring and diminishing American factory jobs
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 2, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
C-Suite
MacKenzie Scott's $19 billion donations have turned philanthropy on its head—why her style of giving actually works
By Sydney LakeDecember 2, 2025
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
North America
Anonymous $50 million donation helps cover the next 50 years of tuition for medical lab science students at University of Washington
By The Associated PressDecember 2, 2025
23 hours ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.