Google hires VMware co-founder to run cloud business

Google has appointed VMware co-founder and industry veteran Diane Greene to run its cloud business.

The company also today said it would buy Greene's startup Bebop, a development platform that helps build and maintain enterprise applications.

Greene and the Bebop team will join Google after the transaction closes this year.

"We think this will help many more businesses find great applications, and reap the benefits of cloud computing," Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote.

"Bebop and its stellar team will help us provide integrated cloud products at every level: end-user platforms like Android and Chromebooks, infrastructure and services in Google Cloud Platform, developer frameworks for mobile and enterprise users, and end-user applications like Gmail and Docs."

Pichai has said selling cloud storage space to enterprises was a growing priority for the company. The business now contributes only a miniscule part of parent company Alphabet's revenue.

Greene, who has been on Google's board for three years, will lead a new team combining all its cloud businesses, including Google for Work, Cloud Platform, and Google Apps.

"This new business will bring together product, engineering, marketing and sales and allow us to operate in a much more integrated, coordinated fashion," Pichai wrote.

"Cloud computing is revolutionising the way people live and work, and there is no better person to lead this important area."

Greene resigned as VMware CEO in 2008.

She will continue to serve on Google's board as a non-independent director, the company said.