Facebook launched the Open Compute Project in April of 2011 after releasing the design specifications for its server and data center infrastructure. The project has won the backing of most leading hardware vendors. Execs from Intel and Rackspace, for instance, sit on the Open Compute Project board.
Francovsky acknowledged that hardware development is capital intensive and it will take time for chip vendors, system vendors and peripherals vendors to evolve to new pastures of innovation. But he thinks it is inevitable.