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.
SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
CONTACT:
A. William Stein
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment
Officer
+1-415-738-6500
or
Pamela A. Matthews
Investor/Analyst Information
+1-415-738-6500
or
Chris Crosby
Sales & Technical Services
+1-214-231-1350
all of Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
Web Site: http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com
