On-demand IT services provider SoftLayer Technologies has secured a new headquarters and data center property in the Dallas area through an agreement with wholesale data center provider Digital Realty Trust (digitalrealtytrust.com).

According to its Thursday announcement, SoftLayer signed a multi-faceted lease for office and data center space in a Digital Realty Trust building with the option to occupy the entire building to meet the company's future expansion requirements. SoftLayer also has naming rights for the standalone building, which will serve as the company's global headquarters and operations center.

"We were running out of office space and data center capacity in our current facilities, so we needed to find a solution that could accommodate our growth," SoftLayer chief executive officer Lance Crosby said in a statement. "The Digital Realty Trust property gives us tremendous flexibility to expand over time and enables us to house our offices and IT operation under the same roof. That has tremendous efficiencies for our operations and benefits for our customers. The Digital Realty Trust building allows us to expand our IT operations incrementally and cost effectively as our business grows."

Digital Realty Trust property in Dallas became available due to a tenant's lease expiring. The company will convert the space into a state-of-the-art data center with the power and fiber connectivity needed to support SoftLayer's operations.

"We are pleased that SoftLayer selected a Digital Realty Trust property as the new home for its corporate headquarters and IT operations," Digital Realty Trust global sales vice president Brent Behrman said in a statement. "SoftLayer was looking for a standalone property that would provide first-rate office space as well as technical space for its IT service operations.

Crosby added that this is one of the first steps of SoftLayer's aggressive growth plan for 2010. "Adding capacity in Dallas is a first priority, but we will continue to expand both our data center and network capabilities in the coming months to satisfy the needs of our growing customer base," he said.