Digital Realty: driving operational excellence across a global Data Center portfolio
How internationally recognized management system standards helped support quality, security, sustainability and continuous improvement.
The right certification and the right partner
Digital Realty operates at the heart of the global digital economy. Supporting more than 2,000 customers across industries ranging from financial services and healthcare to telecommunications and manufacturing, the company manages a portfolio of more than 210 data centers worldwide.
As Digital Realty expanded across North America, Europe and Asia, maintaining consistent operational standards became increasingly important. The organization needed a framework capable of supporting quality management, information security, environmental performance, occupational health and safety, and energy efficiency across a growing international footprint.
To achieve this, Digital Realty embarked on a certification journey supported by NQA – a Kiwa company, implementing an integrated management system aligned with five internationally recognized ISO standards.
The result was not only successful certification but also a structured platform for governance, continual improvement and stakeholder confidence.
The challenge: managing growth while maintaining consistency
Rapid growth creates opportunities, but it also introduces complexity.
For organizations operating critical infrastructure across multiple countries, maintaining consistency in operational processes, risk management and compliance can become increasingly challenging.
Digital Realty faced exactly this situation.
As its global footprint expanded, the company required a management framework capable of supporting:
- Consistent operational performance across multiple facilities
- Effective information security governance
- Environmental responsibility and sustainability objectives
- Occupational health and safety requirements
- Improved energy management
- Regulatory compliance across different markets
The organization also wanted independent verification that its internal controls and management systems were operating effectively.
According to Digital Realty, internationally recognized standards offered an opportunity to create a common operational language across the business while providing assurance to customers and stakeholders.
Why ISO Standards?
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards are recognized globally as frameworks for managing quality, risk and organizational performance.
For Digital Realty, certification represented more than compliance. The standards offered a structured mechanism for driving continuous improvement and supporting long-term business objectives.
The organization selected five standards that aligned closely with its operational priorities:
ISO 9001 – Quality Management
ISO 9001 provides a framework for delivering consistent services and improving customer satisfaction through process management and continual improvement. For Digital Realty, the standard supported operational consistency while helping strengthen stakeholder confidence and decision-making processes.
ISO 14001 – Environmental Management
As sustainability expectations increased, Digital Realty sought a structured approach to environmental management. ISO 14001 helped the company identify environmental impacts, improve performance and support compliance with environmental requirements while reinforcing broader sustainability commitments.
ISO 27001 – Information Security Management
Information security is a critical consideration for any data center operator. ISO 27001 provided Digital Realty with a framework for managing risks related to confidentiality, integrity and availability of information while supporting customer and regulatory expectations regarding cybersecurity and data protection.
ISO 45001 – Occupational Health and Safety
Creating safe working environments for employees, contractors and visitors is an essential aspect of data center operations. Digital Realty initially achieved certification to OHSAS 18001 before transitioning to ISO 45001, strengthening its approach to occupational health and safety management.
ISO 50001 – Energy Management
Energy performance remains one of the most significant operational and environmental considerations for data centers. ISO 50001 provided a framework for measuring, monitoring and continually improving energy performance while supporting efficiency and sustainability objectives.
The Solution: an integrated management system
Rather than managing each standard independently, Digital Realty chose to integrate them into a single management framework.
This Integrated Management System (IMS) became a central component of the organization's operational model.
The approach allowed the company to:
- Reduce duplication of processes
- Improve consistency across facilities
- Enhance governance and accountability
- Streamline auditing activities
- Improve visibility of risks and opportunities
- Support continual improvement initiatives
The integration was further supported by the common structure used across modern ISO standards, helping create alignment between quality, environmental, security, health and safety, and energy management processes.
The Certification journey
The certification process began with a comprehensive assessment of Digital Realty's management systems and operational readiness.
Working with NQA – a Kiwa company, the organization undertook a structured certification programme that included documentation reviews, site assessments and independent audits.
A key success factor was senior leadership commitment.
Management engagement helped ensure that appropriate resources were allocated, stakeholders remained engaged and improvement opportunities identified during audits could be effectively addressed.
According to Digital Realty, the auditing process also provided valuable operational insights. Independent assessments helped identify opportunities for improvement while validating the effectiveness of existing controls and processes.
The company successfully achieved certification to all five standards and has maintained its commitment to certification and continual improvement ever since.
The results
Certification provided Digital Realty with benefits extending beyond compliance.
The integrated management system created a platform for monitoring performance, managing risks and supporting strategic objectives across the organization.
Key outcomes included:
Greater operational consistency
Enhanced customer confidence
Improved risk management
Stronger sustainability and energy governance
Supporting the future of digital infrastructure
Today, Digital Realty continues to maintain certification as part of its commitment to quality, information security, sustainability, health and safety, and energy performance.
Through NQA – a Kiwa company, Kiwa continues to support organizations across the data center sector with certification, verification and assurance services that help strengthen performance, demonstrate compliance and build trust among customers and stakeholders.
As digital infrastructure becomes increasingly critical to society, independent conformity assessment remains an important tool for helping organizations achieve operational excellence while preparing for future challenges.
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