Digital Realty

Corporate brand

A global owner, operator, and provider of carrier-neutral data centers, colocation, and digital interconnection services.

Last updated August 31, 2026

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Overview

Digital Realty is a publicly traded real estate investment trust focused on data-center infrastructure. Through its facilities and service platforms, the company provides secure space, electrical capacity, cooling, connectivity, and interconnection for enterprises, telecommunications companies, cloud providers, content platforms, financial institutions, and other organizations with substantial digital-infrastructure requirements. Its carrier-neutral model allows customers to connect with multiple network, cloud, internet-exchange, and service providers rather than being tied to one telecommunications operator. The business was established in 2004 by GI Partners, which assembled an initial portfolio of data centers acquired from bankruptcy proceedings and financially distressed owners at discounts to replacement cost. Digital Realty became a public company through an initial public offering on November 4, 2004. At the IPO, the portfolio contained 23 properties totaling approximately 5.6 million square feet. GI Partners had disposed of its remaining shares by March 2007, leaving Digital Realty as an independently traded data-center real estate company. During the 2010s, Digital Realty expanded through both property acquisitions and platform acquisitions. It purchased facilities in the northeastern United States, Atlanta, San Francisco, Minnesota, Arizona, and northern Virginia, while also developing larger campuses. Its 2015 acquisition of Telx added a significant interconnection and colocation platform. The company subsequently acquired European facilities from Equinix, completed its acquisition of DuPont Fabros Technology, purchased Brazilian operator Ascenty, and agreed to acquire Interxion. These transactions broadened the company from a primarily property-oriented data-center landlord into a global provider combining wholesale capacity, retail colocation, cloud connectivity, and interconnection. The company continued international expansion in the 2020s. It moved its planned headquarters from California to Austin, entered West Africa through a controlling investment in Medallion Communications, and acquired a majority stake in South African data-center operator Teraco. As of the reference period in 2023, Digital Realty reported more than 300 facilities across over 25 countries. Its international portfolio is organized around major metropolitan markets and connectivity hubs, where proximity to networks, cloud regions, internet exchanges, and business customers creates demand for highly connected facilities. Sustainability is a major part of Digital Realty's corporate positioning. The company joined the Science Based Targets initiative and committed to reducing operational and value-chain emissions against a 2018 baseline. It is also a signatory to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, a European industry initiative that targets climate neutrality for participating data-center operators by 2030. Digital Realty has contracted approximately one gigawatt of wind and solar projects in several U.S. states and installed smaller solar projects at facilities in Kenya, Greece, Switzerland, and South Korea. The company has stated that its activities avoided approximately 1.8 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions in 2022. Digital Realty's present business combines long-term data-center real estate ownership with recurring infrastructure and connectivity services. Its main strategic challenges include the capital intensity of new campuses, energy availability, power costs, water and cooling requirements, environmental regulation, cybersecurity and operational resilience, and the need to support increasingly dense computing workloads. A 2024 battery-room fire at a Singapore facility illustrated the operational risks associated with large-scale power systems, although the company reported that evacuated employees were not injured.

History

Digital Realty was created in 2004 by GI Partners as a specialized owner and operator of data-center real estate. GI Partners contributed 21 facilities assembled through bankruptcy auctions and purchases from distressed companies, generally at discounts to the cost of replacing the properties. Digital Realty held its initial public offering on November 4, 2004. Its starting public portfolio consisted of 23 properties and about 5.6 million square feet. GI Partners sold all of its shares by March 2007. The company expanded its U.S. portfolio through a series of acquisitions and development projects. In 2006 it bought a Phoenix property for $175 million. In 2010 it acquired three data centers in Massachusetts and Connecticut for $375 million. In 2012 it added a 334,000-square-foot Atlanta-area facility through a leaseback transaction and purchased a San Francisco data center. In 2013 it acquired Delta Air Lines' data center in Eagan, Minnesota, also through a leaseback arrangement, and expanded capacity at its Chandler, Arizona, facility. Digital Realty's platform strategy became more pronounced in the middle of the decade. It sold a Philadelphia building in 2015 and acquired Telx for approximately $1.886 billion, adding retail colocation and interconnection services. The same year, it bought undeveloped land in Loudoun County, Virginia, and announced plans for a large data-center campus. In 2016 it acquired eight European data centers from Equinix. It expanded an Atlanta facility in 2017 and completed the acquisition of DuPont Fabros Technology, increasing its ability to serve large cloud and internet customers. The company also became involved in a significant U.S. Supreme Court employment-law case. In Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v. Somers, the Court held in 2018 that the anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers under the relevant Dodd-Frank provision applied only to individuals who had reported the alleged securities-law violation to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The case arose after an employee claimed he had been dismissed following internal complaints concerning supervisory controls and cost overruns. The ruling addressed the statutory scope of whistleblower protection rather than establishing a general finding of corporate misconduct. Digital Realty continued its international growth with the 2018 acquisition of Ascenty, a Brazilian data-center operator. In 2019 it announced an agreement to acquire Interxion, a European data-center and interconnection provider, further combining geographically distributed facilities with network-rich colocation services. During this period the company also obtained ENERGY STAR recognition for the energy performance of multiple U.S. facilities. In the 2020s, Digital Realty emphasized sustainability and geographic diversification. It joined the Science Based Targets initiative, setting 2030 emissions objectives based on 2018 levels, and supported the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact in Europe. It announced a headquarters move to Austin in 2021, entered West Africa through a controlling interest in Medallion Communications, and announced a 55 percent stake in Teraco Data Centres in 2022. In 2023 it received a certificate of conformity associated with the European Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact's self-regulatory requirements. Digital Realty's environmental program includes renewable-energy procurement and development. The company has reported approximately one gigawatt of wind and solar projects under contract in the United States and solar installations at facilities in Kenya, Greece, Switzerland, and South Korea. It has also reported avoiding approximately 1.8 million metric tons of carbon-dioxide-equivalent emissions in 2022. A September 2024 fire at its Loyang facility in Singapore involved lithium-ion batteries in battery rooms. Staff were evacuated without reported injuries, while several customer and cloud services experienced disruption or potential disruption. The incident highlighted the importance of battery safety, redundancy, and operational resilience in modern data-center campuses.

2024
Loyang facility fire
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
A battery-room fire occurred at a Digital Realty data center in Singapore, prompting evacuation and affecting some customer systems.
2023
Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact conformity certificate
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
The company received a certificate associated with adherence to the pact's European self-regulatory initiatives.
2022
Teraco investment
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty announced a 55 percent stake acquisition in Teraco Data Centres.
2021
Headquarters relocation announced
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty announced that its headquarters would move to Austin, Texas.
2020
Science-based emissions targets
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
The company joined the Science Based Targets initiative and announced emissions-reduction commitments.
2019
Interxion transaction announced
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty announced an approximately $8.4 billion acquisition of European provider Interxion.
2018
Ascenty acquisition
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty acquired Brazilian operator Ascenty, which operated eight facilities at the time.
2017
DuPont Fabros Technology acquisition
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
The completed acquisition expanded Digital Realty's data-center portfolio and large-scale customer capacity.
2016
European portfolio expansion
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty acquired eight European data centers from Equinix.
2015
Telx acquisition
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
The acquisition brought a major interconnection and retail-colocation platform into Digital Realty.
2007
GI Partners exits
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
GI Partners had sold all of its shares in Digital Realty by March.
2004
Formation and initial portfolio
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
GI Partners formed Digital Realty with a portfolio assembled from distressed and bankruptcy-related data-center transactions.
2004
Initial public offering
[1]Digital Realtyen.wikipedia.org
Digital Realty became publicly traded on November 4 with 23 properties totaling approximately 5.6 million square feet.

Products and positioning

Enterprise-grade, carrier-neutral digital infrastructure supporting cloud, network, colocation, and data-intensive workloads.

Data-center infrastructure
Data-center campuses
Large-scale facilities and campuses that provide powered data-center space, resilient electrical systems, cooling, physical security, and operating infrastructure. These sites can support enterprise deployments, cloud regions, telecommunications equipment, and hyperscale workloads. Digital Realty develops and acquires campuses in markets where power, network density, and customer demand support long-term infrastructure investment.
Data-center services
Colocation
Colocation allows customers to install and operate servers, storage, and network equipment in professionally managed Digital Realty facilities. The service can range from dedicated suites and cages to larger wholesale deployments, with customers receiving power, cooling, security, monitoring, and access to multiple network and cloud providers.
Connectivity services
Interconnection
Interconnection services link customers to carriers, internet exchanges, cloud platforms, service providers, and other tenants within or across data centers. The carrier-neutral model is intended to give customers network choice and reduce the need to move traffic through a single telecommunications provider. Interconnection became especially prominent in Digital Realty's offering after the Telx and Interxion transactions.
Connectivity services
Cloud connectivity
Cloud-connectivity offerings provide private or controlled connections between customer infrastructure and public-cloud or digital-service environments. They are designed for organizations seeking predictable performance, security, and lower dependence on the public internet for hybrid-cloud and multicloud architectures.

Brand decisions

2022
Acquire a majority stake in TeracoM&A
Background
Digital Realty sought to expand its African data-center platform and presence in major regional connectivity markets.
Action taken
The company announced the acquisition of a 55 percent stake in Teraco Data Centres.
Aftermath
The transaction strengthened Digital Realty's position in Africa through Teraco's established regional facilities.
Source
2020
Set science-based emissions targetsStrategy
Background
Data-center electricity consumption and associated emissions became increasingly important to customers, regulators, and investors.
Action taken
Digital Realty joined the Science Based Targets initiative and committed to reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68 percent and Scope 3 emissions by 24 percent between 2018 and 2030.
Aftermath
The commitments formalized the company's sustainability strategy alongside renewable-power procurement and efficiency programs.
Source
2019
Acquire InterxionM&A
Background
Digital Realty aimed to combine its global data-center footprint with Interxion's European colocation and interconnection business.
Action taken
The company announced an agreement valued at approximately $8.4 billion.
Aftermath
The planned combination positioned the enlarged business as a broader global provider of data-center, colocation, and interconnection services.
Announced transaction value. Approximately $8.4 billion (October 2019)
Source
2018
Acquire AscentyM&A
Background
Digital Realty pursued expansion in Latin America through a Brazilian data-center operator.
Action taken
The company acquired Ascenty for approximately $1.8 billion.
Aftermath
Digital Realty gained a larger presence in Brazil, where Ascenty operated eight data centers at the time.
Acquisition value. Approximately $1.8 billion transaction (December 2018)
Source
2015
Acquire TelxM&A
Background
Digital Realty sought to strengthen its retail colocation and interconnection capabilities in addition to its traditional data-center real-estate business.
Action taken
The company acquired Telx for approximately $1.886 billion.
Aftermath
The transaction expanded Digital Realty's network-rich colocation and interconnection platform.
Acquisition value. Approximately $1.886 billion transaction (2015)
Source

Recent events

Unconfirmed
Reported2026.10.15
Menlo Equities acquires nine Digital Realty data centers[3]Menlo Equities收购Digital Realty九座数据中心datacenterdynamics.com
Menlo Equities acquired nine data centers across the United States from Digital Realty, including four in Silicon Valley, in a deal reported at $108.8 million for the four California facilities.
2022.01.04
Reported2022.01.04
Digital Realty announced acquisition of control of Teraco[4]Digital Realty宣布收购 Teraco 控股权datacenterfrontier.com
Digital Realty announced a transaction valuing South Africa-based Teraco at $3.5 billion. Upon closing, Digital Realty is expected to own approximately 55% of Teraco's total equity; the transaction was expected to close in the first half of 2022.
2021.12.02
Reported2021.12.02
Telia Carrier expands connectivity presence at Digital Realty[5]Telia Carrier扩大在Digital Realty数据中心的连接布局prnewswire.com
Telia Carrier announced a new point of presence at Digital Realty’s Richardson, Texas campus as part of an expansion across Digital Realty data centers. The additions in Richardson, Los Angeles, and Chicago brought the total to 39 Digital Realty sites connected by Telia Carrier across the US and Europe.
2021.03.23
Reported2021.03.23
Digital Realty expands direct connections to Google Cloud[6]Digital Realty扩展与Google Cloud的直接连接prnewswire.com
Digital Realty announced expanded secure, private access to Google Cloud's network in five metropolitan areas, including new on-ramps in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Vienna and Germany and a second direct interconnect in Düsseldorf.
2020.02.11
Reported2020.02.12
Digital Realty launches PlatformDIGITAL and colocation solutions in Osaka[7]Digital Realty在大阪推出PlatformDIGITAL及托管服务方案prnewswire.com
Digital Realty announced that it had launched its PlatformDIGITAL data center platform and productized colocation solutions at its Digital Osaka 2 data center in Japan.
2020.02.11
Reported2020.02.12
XTREME-D becomes Digital Realty's first Japanese retail colocation customer[7]Digital Realty在大阪推出PlatformDIGITAL及托管服务方案prnewswire.com
Digital Realty announced XTREME-D as its first Japanese retail colocation customer. XTREME-D will lease colocation space at Digital Osaka 2 to support its on-demand supercomputing services.
2019.11.07
Reported2019.11.07
Digital Realty launches PlatformDIGITAL[8]Digital Realty推出PlatformDIGITAL平台prnewswire.com
Digital Realty announced PlatformDIGITAL, a global data center platform, and introduced four enterprise IT solutions available to enterprise customers globally.
2019.10.29
Reported2019.10.29
Adani Group and Digital Realty announce data centre partnership in India[9]Adani Group与Digital Realty宣布在印度开展数据中心合作aninews.in
Adani Group announced a partnership with Digital Realty. Under a memorandum of understanding, Adani Enterprises and Digital Realty would jointly evaluate developing and operating data centres and data centre parks, and cultivating under-sea cable provider communities of interest across India.
2019.10.01
Reported2019.10.01
Digital Realty prices preferred stock offering[10]Digital Realty公布优先股发行定价prnewswire.com
Digital Realty announced pricing of an underwritten public offering of 12,000,000 shares of 5.200% Series L Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, for gross proceeds of $300 million. The offering was expected to close on October 10, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

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