Release Details

Independent Survey Commissioned by Digital Realty Trust Indicates that Concern for Regulation is Major Driver for Green Datacenter Efforts in 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, May 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the world's largest wholesale datacenter provider, has released the results of its annual study of green datacenter trends in the United States. The new study indicates that significant shifts have occurred over the past 12 months in corporate green datacenter strategies. The study is based on a detailed survey of senior decision makers at large U.S. corporations who are responsible for their companies' datacenter and green IT strategies. The research was conducted for Digital Realty Trust by the respected research firm Campos Research & Analysis.

"What dominated last year's study was the need for clearer standards and best practices for green datacenters. There has been significant progress in that area over the past year, including the publication of green datacenter case studies by industry leaders, the development of green building standards specifically for datacenters, and widespread efforts to educate datacenter professionals on the practical application of that information. We're not there yet, but progress has been made, which is reflected in this survey," said Jim Smith, CTO of Digital Realty Trust. "By contrast, what dominates this year's study is companies' concerns about potential government regulation and how that would impact datacenter operations."

Key findings of the new study include:

    --  69 percent of survey participants said they were extremely or very
        concerned about government regulation.
    --  81 percent of survey participants said that carbon credits are now part
        of their green IT strategy - compared to only 18 percent in 2008.
    --  53 percent said that the industry now has a clear definition of what
        makes a datacenter green, compared to 82 percent in the 2008 survey who
        said that there was no clear definition.
    --  73 percent of survey participants identified "energy
        efficiency" as the key aspect of a green datacenter.

"Concerns about potential regulations are driving companies to look closely at their datacenters and accelerate the process of implementing green initiatives to increase energy efficiency. We applaud these green datacenter initiatives because they result in lower power usage and lower costs, even when companies take very basic steps toward designing and operating their datacenters in a greener fashion," added Smith. "However, it is important to note that some of the concerns about government regulation may not be warranted, given the good faith efforts that government agencies such as the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency are making to work with the industry and advocacy groups like The Green Grid to spur self-management of this issue. We believe that collaboration between the government and datacenter professionals is the most effective approach to addressing datacenter energy efficiency."

Digital Realty Trust is also issuing the results of a simultaneous study of green trends in the European datacenter market last month that is available in a news release on the Company's website.

About the Methodology

Metrics reported in this study are based on Web-based surveys of 100 IT decision makers at large corporations in North America with annual revenues of at least $1.0 billion and/or at least 5000+ employees. All survey participants are directly involved in the process of managing corporate data centers, executing contracts for new datacenters, implementing new datacenters or expanding existing datacenters. All participants were senior level executives, including CxOs, in IT, MIS, IS or Finance. The survey was conducted in March 2009.

About Digital Realty Trust, Inc.

Digital Realty Trust owns, acquires, redevelops, develops and manages technology-related real estate. The Company is focused on providing Turn-Key Datacenter(SM) and Powered Base Building(SM) 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 75 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 13.0 million square feet as of April 30, 2009, including 1.2 million square feet of space held for redevelopment, Digital Realty Trust's portfolio is located in 27 markets throughout Europe and North America. For additional information, please visit Digital Realty Trust's website at http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com.

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, including statements related to potential regulation and the concerns of survey respondents. These risks and uncertainties include the impact of the current deterioration in the global economy, including the turmoil in the financial and credit markets; the downturn of local economic conditions in our geographic markets; decreases in information technology spending, including as a result of economic slowdowns or recession; adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to; decreases in real estate valuations and resulting impairment charges; our dependence upon significant tenants; bankruptcy or insolvency of one or more major tenants or a significant number of smaller tenants; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing for refinancing current debt obligations, undertaking or completing redevelopment, completing acquisitions or other purposes; increased interest rates and operating costs; our failure to repay debt when due or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan documents; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; our ability to manage our growth effectively; difficulty acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions; our failure to successfully operate acquired or redeveloped properties; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of certain of these investments; delays or unexpected costs in development or redevelopment of properties; decreased rental rates or increased vacancy rates; increased competition or available supply of data center space; inability to successfully redevelop and lease new properties and space held for redevelopment; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; our inability to acquire off-market properties; our inability to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to public companies; our failure to maintain our status as a REIT; possible adverse changes to tax laws; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; changes in foreign laws and regulations, including those related to environmental matters, taxation and real estate ownership and operation; 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, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 and the Company's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. 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.         +1 415-738-6500
    +1 415-738-6500

    Chris Crosby
    Sales & Technical Services
    Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
    +1 214-231-1350

SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.