Digital Realty Research: Budget, complexity and connectivity emerge as key challenges for Australian data strategies

- 88% of Australian businesses struggle to secure budget to implement their data strategy

- 90% are concerned about how they will deal with the increasing quantities of data

- 79%of businesses report lack of clarity around who 'owns' the data operations

SYDNEY,Jan. 30,2020 -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR),a leading global provider of data centre,colocation and interconnection solutions,today announcedthe results ofa new studyrevealing how and whyAustralianbusinessesare struggling to implementsuccessful data managementand storagestrategies.The survey ofmore than200IT leadersacrossAustraliarevealedthat rapid data creation,lack of investment,securitychallenges,storage complexity,and sustainabilityareall factors in data neglect and strategy failure.

Evolvingdataand infrastructure requirements

The volume of data being generatedisa keychallengefor organizations-it's estimated that the Internet of Things (IoT) alone will generate more than 500 zettabytes of data per year,according to Cisco's Global Cloud Index1.With this in mind,90% of IT leadersreportedconcernsabout how they will deal with theirincreasing quantities of data,and the corresponding data gravity effect.Similarly,87% of Australian IT leaders surveyed are wondering how they will manage and integrate related data services across multiple external providers.

Despite continued data growth,81% of organizations feel their data strategies are being hindered by senior executives choosing to invest in other areas of the business.As a result,88% ofIT leadersadmitted strugglingto manage and secure budget to implement their data strategies.

Getting the basicsright

The survey suggests a core challenge amongst organizations is not having yetachieved the basicswhen it comes to their datastrategies.Firstly,there is a lack of clarity around which business unit ownswhichdata (reportedby 79% of respondents). Additionalissuesfor IT leaders include:

85% find it a challenge to get sufficient connectivity within their data centre

89% admit securely storing their data to be a challenge

89% find staying up to date,and complying with government legislation is tough

"Lack of senior buy-in,coupled with budget constraints,will create ongoing challenges when securing,organising and gleaning insights from data effectively,"said MarkSmith,Managing Director,Asia Pacific,Digital Realty."With data generation continuing to grow,organizations must take a holistic approach from the top-down to ensure their infrastructure meets changing customer demands. This means viewing data infrastructure,whether on-premise,in the cloud,or a hybrid setup,as a strategic tool to support key business objectives."

With data gravity remaining a big concern amongst IT leaders,thecomplexity around the management and integration of datais increasing too.For example,almost three quartersof respondents (74%)believe their use of cloud services will increase over the next 12 – 14 months.

In addition,95% of IT leaders indicate that a datacentre'sability to integrate co-located and fully managed services is important when considering prospective data centres. And,98% of respondents indicate that connectivity will continue to be important.This showcases the growing need for the adoption of tools that can meet the newdata,control and networking demands of global enterprises.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that organizations face considerable roadblocks when implementing their data management strategy," added Smith. "As enterprises adapt IT strategies,seemingly on the fly,to meet evolving demands we see a stronger need for tools,clouds,networks and resources,such as our ownPlatformDIGITAL™,to address the growing challenges posed bydata gravity."

Refreshingly,over three quarters(80%)of IT leaders indicate that the use of renewable energy and low carbon footprint is important when considering a prospective data centreand looking at theirdata strategies.In fact,one-in-threesay theywillnot consider a data centrethat doesn't have a sustainability plan.

For more information and to view the full results of the survey,please visit: www.digitalrealty.com/australia-2020.More information on PlatformDIGITAL™ can be found here.

About this survey

This survey was conducted in 2019 by Fifth Quadrant on behalf of Digital Realty. In total,203 IT leaders,defined as thosewho are knowledgeable about their organization's data management and are involved in decision-making regarding data management within their organization,were surveyed.

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty supports the data center,colocation and interconnection strategies of customers across the Americas,EMEA and APAC,ranging from cloud and information technology services,communications and social networking to financial services,manufacturing,energy,healthcare and consumer products. To learn more about Digital Realty,please visitdigitalrealty.comor follow us onLinkedInandTwitter.

For more information:

Omer Wilson

Digital Realty APAC

+65 6505 3951

owilson@digitalrealty.com

Media & Industry Analyst Relations

Marc Musgrove

Digital Realty

+1 (415) 508-2812

mmusgrove@digitalrealty.com

Investor Relations

John Stewart

Digital Realty

+1 (415) 738-6500

InvestorRelations@digitalrealty.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,including statements related to the IT survey,including expected challenges,potential solutions and sustainability,and PlatformDIGITAL™. For a list and description of such risks and uncertainties,see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.

1Cisco Global Cloud Index 2016 – 2021

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