Equinix Alum to Lead Digital Realty Channel as Data Center Demand Rises

Data center operator Digital Realty tapped a new leader for its indirect sales channel efforts.

Jules Johnston, a longterm channel executive at rival data center provider Equinix, has accepted a position as senior vice president of global channels at Digital Realty. According to a news release from her new employer, Johnston will focus on "establishing a durable and scalable channel model." Digital Realty added that it intends for its community of network service provider (NSP), systems integrators (SI), technology advisor (TA) and value-added reseller (VAR) partners to make the vendor's data center, colocation and interconnection offerings core to their business as they work with enterprise customers.

She said she's supporting the company's channel ideals of "collaboration and shared success."

“Enterprises typically rely on six to seven trusted partners throughout their digital transformation journeys," Johnston said in the news release. "My mission is to equip our partners with the tools and resources they need, positioning Digital Realty as a trusted ally in the growth and digital transformation of our shared customers.”

Digital Realty's Jules Johnston

Who Is Jules Johnston?

Johnston worked at Equinix for the last eight years. She most recently served as senior vice president of global channel sales.

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Her other companies include AuthAir (which LogMeIn/GoTo acquired) MineralTree and Verisign.

Chief revenue officer Colin McLean said Digital Realty will benefit from Johnston's long tenure in the space and her relationships.

Digital Realty's Colin McLean

“This announcement goes beyond welcoming a new leader; it signifies our continued and increased dedication to our partners,” McLean said. "We are making a concerted effort to move towards an even more partner-centric model, ensuring that our top partners feel fully integrated into our strategy and equipped to deliver exceptional value to our mutual customers.”

Mel Melara is senior vice president of data center and cloud for Bridgepointe Technologies, Digital Realty's global partner of the year two years running. He credited Johnston for her expertise in the data center space as well as her knowledge of the enterprise market that Equinix played in heavily.

“Bridgepointe has worked with Jules for a long time in her previous role at Equinix, and we have had a great relationship with Jules and her team, she has a deep understanding of the value that channel brings to the enterprise, and her background is going to be extremely beneficial for Digital," Melara told Channel Futures.

Digital Realty

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The vendor is one of the largest in the data center space, by its own admission and according to partners.

"Digital Realty is a major player in the data center industry, known for its vast global reach and strong focus on sustainability," said Danielle DeCosta, vice president of strategic partnerships at Upstack, which recently won Digital Realty's Americas partner of the year award. "They’re big on offering flexible, scalable solutions that can adapt as businesses grow, all while maintaining a commitment to green practices."

Koby Phillips, vice president of cloud for Telarus, added that Digital Realty has excelled in the channel, particularly with technology advisors that companies like Telarus service.

"Digital Realty’s unique ability to scale globally, while remaining competitive in regional and local markets, gives customers the flexibility to connect with cloud partners, SaaS platforms and even their own systems," Phillips told Channel Futures. "Being able to tell that story globally puts them in positions that only a few others can compete in."

'Exploding' Colocation Market

DeCosta, Melara and Phillips all said channel partners are seeing big opportunities to sell colocation services, particularly as the proliferation of generative AI causes more companies to invest in their data center footprint.

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"Opportunities for data centers within the technology advisor community as a whole are exploding, just like the overall industry. With the influx of AI companies requiring colocation and significant power requirements, we’re seeing larger deals on a more frequent basis than we ever have," Phillips said.

DeCosta agreed.

"Data centers have clearly become the highest value asset in the tech stack as demand continues to increase while near-term supply remains extremely limited," she said. "The rise of Gen AI and the deployment of Graphic Processing Units have created an unprecedented rush for capacity, presenting a significant opportunity for those who can help clients find and source it."

At the same time, many businesses are undergoing repatriation as they go from placing all of their workloads on the infrastructure of hyperscalers to identifying stable workloads they want to place in their own infrastructure.

But finding available data center space for clients has proven a challenge for channel partners and everyone else needing the space. Record-setting demand is brewing a "perfect storm," Malara said.

“You have pressure coming from AI companies that are competing with enterprise clients for the same space in the same markets. You also have hyperscalers like AWS and Azure continuing to grow at a very, very fast pace, and all of them looking towards operators like Digital Realty and others to buy their data center space," he said. "Because of this phenomena, there has never been a better time to use a trusted advisor, who is close to market intelligence from data center operators, understanding space, power, liquid cooling capabilities and future buildouts”