Research Study Indicates More Than 80 Percent of Companies Planning to Expand Datacenters

SAN FRANCISCO, May 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. , a leading owner and manager of corporate datacenters and Internet gateways, is reporting new research data about a number of emerging datacenter trends in the IT industry. The findings are from a recently completed survey commissioned by the Company of senior decision makers who are either directly responsible for datacenters or influence significant decisions related to datacenter operations. 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. The surveyed companies come from a wide range of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, professional services, packaged consumer goods, telecommunications, consumer services and information technology.

Key findings from the research study and additional data points are provided below:

* Five out of every six respondents (more than 80 percent) have plans to expand their datacenters: * One third of all study participants plan to expand their datacenters within the next 12 months; * Nearly 40 percent of participants are planning expansions that will occur in the next 24 months; and another 12 percent are planning expansions beyond the 24 month mark; * Only 15 percent of survey participants have no plans to expand; and * Of the study participants who are planning datacenter expansions, 75 percent plan to expand in two or more locations, indicating that these expansions will be complex, multi-site datacenter initiatives. * The study also determined that the average company surveyed has between three and four major datacenters, and nearly 20 percent operate six or more major datacenters (excluding "IT closets in branch offices"). * The majority of participants in the research study indicated that the following factors are key drivers in the need to expand datacenters and/or establish new datacenters: * New applications, which require new or expanded datacenters; * The need for more square footage to meet the general growth in the scope of datacenter operations; * Disaster recovery initiatives, which require additional datacenter infrastructure; * Sarbanes-Oxley/Compliance requirements, which require additional datacenter infrastructure; * Power, which has become an increasingly important driver for corporate datacenter planning; * Network connectivity, which requires the need for new datacenter space that meets evolving connectivity needs; and * Cooling, more advanced datacenter space requires high volume systems

"This data illustrates that the demand for advanced datacenter facilities is broad-based and has long term growth prospects given the scope and timeline of the projects described by these companies. With our ability to provide a wide range of customer oriented solutions from build-to-suit to Turn-Key Datacenters(TM) combined with our Critical Facilities Management(TM) and flexible financing options, we believe that Digital Realty Trust is well-positioned to benefit from these very favorable trends," said Michael F. Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust. "The study also confirms what we see: that the datacenter has become a critical part of business operations whether you make loans, build cars, or provide energy solutions. Its strategic importance crosses all industry verticals, not just Internet-centric companies. I look forward to seeing more industry research that addresses these emerging trends."

Chris Crosby, Senior Vice President of Sales and Technical Services for Digital Realty Trust, added, "The findings in this research study are noteworthy because they crystallize issues that many people in the industry have commented on, but which have not yet been quantitatively corroborated in studies we have seen. This research clearly shows that there are strong drivers for continued growth in the demand for datacenter space, with the vast majority of large companies actively planning datacenter projects this year or in the next couple of years."

A number of additional findings from the research study are as follows: * Currently, most corporate datacenters consist of 10,000-25,000 square feet of raised floor space, with small percentages of respondents indicating that their datacenter operations are on the low end or the high end of the size spectrum. * Most want at least 10,000 square feet, at least 4.1 kW per rack, and some level of redundancy. * When study participants were asked to rate the importance of several factors in selecting a geographic location for their datacenters, security was ranked as the most important followed by telecom and accessibility for company personnel. * Taxes, labor pool and real estate costs were ranked as less important, but still important, factors. * More than half of the respondents plan to use a partner to implement their expansion plans. * Only 35 percent are planning to implement the expansion themselves. * Nearly half ranked operational reliability as the most important criterion for choosing a partner for datacenter operations

Mr. Crosby concluded, "This study underscores that numerous factors are behind these datacenter initiatives, rather than a single issue. More than compliance requirements, power issues or new applications alone -- there are at least a half a dozen different factors driving the demand for datacenter space. The cost of power may fluctuate and compliance regulations may evolve, but we feel the need for datacenter space is bigger than any single issue."

About the Methodology

Metrics reported in this study are based on Web-based surveys of IT decisionmakers 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 2007 and the sample size was more than 150 participants at companies that met the research criteria.

About Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. owns, acquires, repositions and manages technology-related real estate. Digital Realty Trust's 62 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 tenants and corporate enterprise datacenter tenants. Comprising approximately 11.4 million rentable square feet, including 1.7 million square feet of space held for redevelopment, Digital Realty Trust's portfolio is located in 25 markets throughout North America and Europe. For additional information, please visit Digital Realty Trust's website at http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Such forward looking statements include statements related to expected future growth of the data center market, the drivers of this growth, the expected size and power requirements for future data centers and the importance of factors considered when selecting datacenter facilities. These risks and uncertainties include adverse economic or real estate developments in the Company's markets or the technology industry; general economic conditions; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; increased interest rates and operating costs; inability to manage domestic and international growth effectively; failure to obtain necessary outside financing; decreased rental rates or increased vacancy rates; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions at acceptable return levels; failure to successfully operate acquired properties and operations; failure of acquired properties to perform as expected; failure to successfully redevelop properties acquired for such purposes or unexpected costs related thereto; failure to maintain the Company's status as a REIT; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; risks of operating in foreign markets; and changes in real estate and zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates. For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2006, as updated by subsequent reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed with the SEC. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For Additional Information: A. William Stein Pamela A. Matthews Chief Financial Officer and Investor/Analyst Information Chief Investment Officer Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (415) 738-6500 (415) 738-6500 Chris Crosby Sales & Technical Operations Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (415) 738-6500