Google Hires Ex-Motorola President Rick Osterloh to Manage Its Hardware Unit

By Jenn Loro - 01 May '16 22:48PM

Google is apparently no longer a purely software company. In fact, the Silicon Valley giant is making huge strides in establishing itself in the hardware sector. As part of its transition to go hardware too, it is building a hardware division with former Motorola exec Rick Osterloh in control according to a scooped info from Re/code.

Osterloh isn't new to Google. He's actually coming back to his former employer after Google sold off Motorola to Lenovo. He is now Senior VP tasked to running the hardware unit and reports directly CEO Sundar Pichai.

For quite some time, Google is trying to seamlessly unify all its hardware initiatives under a clear consolidated leadership. The shake-up was quite expected when Regina Dugan, former Advanced Technology and Project group (ATAP) chief, decided to jump board to Facebook to lead the social networking giant's Research and Development unit.

As per ARS Technica, this new division will be responsible for absorbing ongoing hardware projects worth keeping while sorting out the bad ones that need fixing and staving off initiatives deemed unproductive. Under the new unit, all hardware projects and initiatives such as the Nexus devices, Chromecasts, and Chromebooks, OnHub, ATAP, and Google Glass will all have to be consolidated under Osterloh's stewardship.

What difference does a new hardware division make for Google?

For pundits, the decision is a wise move. It should learn a thing or two from Apple's hardware and software approach to innovation. Recently, many software-oriented companies have started making inroads into the hardware market including Facebook and even e-commerce giant Amazon. Perhaps the company could have done a much better job by adopting the change a little earlier.

"It's a smart move for Google, especially if they're still considering internalizing Nexus hardware. Handling a supply chain should also be a bit easier with a single division leading the charge," wrote Nate Swanner of The Next Web.