Datacenter Research Study Indicates Wave of Datacenter Expansions In The Next 12 Months

May 12, 2008; 03:15 AM

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the leading owner and manager of corporate and Internet gateway datacenters, is reporting new research data that indicates a significant increase in the number of datacenter projects being planned by U.S. corporations during the coming 12 months. The findings are from a recently completed survey commissioned by Digital Realty Trust of senior decision makers who are either directly responsible for datacenters or influence significant decisions related to datacenter operations. The results of this new study were compared against a similar study conducted by the Company in 2007 to produce comparative metrics about the growth, and other trends, in the datacenter industry.

Key findings from the research study include:

• 86 percent of respondents in the 2008 study will definitely/probably expand their number of datacenters in the next 12 months, indicating an active phase of datacenter development during the second half of 2008 and first half of 2009.

• 45 percent of respondents plan to expand in 3 or more locations. This is an increase of nearly 20 percent over 2007 indicating that the scope of datacenter projects have increased along with the number of projects.

• Planned square footage required for an average expansion site went up 50 percent from 10,000 square feet in 2007 to 15,000 square feet in 2008 – another indication that the scope of datacenter projects have increased significantly in the past year.

“This survey of Fortune 2000 companies confirms what our team has suspected based on conversations with customers.  The demand for datacenter space is, in fact, accelerating and being driven by the rapidly growing IT infrastructure needs of companies across a wide cross-section of industries. Our 2007 survey indicated that there would be a significant volume of datacenter projects on the horizon, and the increases forecasted in this year’s survey are consistent with our new customer activity,” said Michael F. Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust.

Mr. Foust added, “It is particularly significant that 86 percent of companies are planning datacenter expansions in the next 12 months, especially in the context of the current economic environment. Despite the challenging market conditions, companies are making major investments in IT infrastructure, reflecting the critical nature of these assets to today’s corporations.”

Other findings from the research study include:

• Power usage of datacenter centers continued to grow, with a 12 percent increase in average kW use per rack in 2008 over the 2007 metrics.

• A higher percentage of companies reported that they expect to need the support of a partner for their datacenter projects. That metric increased 10 percent in 2008 (from 52 percent to 57 percent). Only 26 percent of companies are planning a “do-it-yourself” approach to their datacenter projects.

• Disaster recovery and Sarbanes-Oxley requirements were cited most frequently as key drivers for datacenter expansions. Power requirements, new applications, more physical space, connectivity needs and cooling requirements were also as among the key drivers.

• Among companies that are planning datacenter expansions:
  • 83 percent plan to expand physical space
  • 77 percent plan to expand power capabilities
  • 76 percent plan to expand cooling capabilities

Digital Realty Trust also recently published the research results from studies of green datacenter trends in the United States and in Europe. To read highlights of these studies, visit the “News” section at www.digitalrealtytrust.com.

About the Methodology

The research was conducted by the respected research firm Campos Research & Analysis which surveyed executives at leading corporations throughout North America to gather information about their datacenter-related initiatives. Metrics reported in this study are based on Web-based surveys of IT decision makers at large corporations in North America with revenues of at least $1 billion and/or a size of at least 5000+ employees. All survey participants are involved in the process of managing corporate datacenters, implementing new datacenters or expanding existing datacenters. All participants were senior level executives, including CxOs, in MIS, IS or Finance. The survey was conducted in March 2008 and the sample size was more than 300 participants at companies that met the research criteria.

About Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. owns, acquires, redevelops, develops and manages technology-related real estate. The Company is focused on providing Turn-Key Datacenter™ and Powered Base Building™ datacenter solutions for domestic and international tenants across a variety of industry verticals ranging from information technology and internet enterprises, to manufacturing and financial services. Digital Realty Trust's 71 properties, excluding one property held as an investment in an unconsolidated joint venture, contain applications and operations critical to the day-to-day operations of technology industry and corporate enterprise datacenter tenants. Comprising approximately 12.7 million rentable square feet as of May 8, 2008, including 1.9 million square feet of space held for redevelopment, Digital Realty Trust's portfolio is located in 26 markets throughout North America and Europe. For additional information, please visit Digital Realty Trust's website at http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com.