Digital Realty, one of the largest global providers of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions, is launching its data center innovation lab.
According to the company, the Digital Realty Innovation Lab (DRIL) offers partners and customers a fully supported, real-world data center testing environment where they can bring their own workloads or leverage pre-configured infrastructure to validate AI and hybrid cloud-deployments before scaling.
Located within a live colocation data center at Digital Realty’s Northern Virginia campus, the DRIL enables existing customers to configure their new workloads in the lab environment for validation and optimization.
New customers can collaborate with Digital Realty and its partners to replicate a representative architecture—enabling realistic, low-risk testing without impacting production systems.
The DRIL eliminates guesswork by allowing businesses to test performance, optimize configurations, and seamlessly connect to cloud and network providers via ServiceFabric, Digital Realty’s global interconnection and orchestration platform.
“Innovation isn’t optional – it’s a competitive requirement in a world where data volumes and AI adoption are accelerating,” said Chris Sharp, Chief Technology Officer, Digital Realty. “Yet, many enterprises still deploy complex infrastructure without the ability to test, validate, or optimize in real-world conditions. The DRIL changes that. It provides a live, high-density environment where customers gain real-time, data-driven insights to fine-tune their deployments before scaling. As hybrid IT, AI, and colocation strategies converge, the innovation lab is purpose-built to help enterprises stay agile, reduce risk, and move faster - from proof of concept to production.”
Key features of the DRIL include:
- High-Density AI and HPC Testing
- AI Infrastructure Optimization
- Hybrid Cloud Validation
- AI Workload Orchestration
- Latency Testing Across Locations
The launch of the DRIL builds on the AI Experience Center, which was launched in 2024 with ePlus and Vertiv. This cutting-edge facility is designed to accelerate the delivery of AI outcomes and optimize AI technologies.
Digital Realty's Northern Virginia campus is the primary DRIL location, but enterprises can also test latency scenarios between this site and other remote locations. This capability allows businesses to refine cloud connectivity with ServiceFabric, ensuring optimal performance across multiple sites. Rollout of the DRIL to other global occasions is already in progress, with London being the next to go live in early 2026.
For more information about this news, visit www.digitalrealty.com.