Strive Notes

People often ask me what the heck I’m doing in the Isle of Man. Well the booming economy is one reason, and e-business is thriving here. 

The Isle of Man is a Crown Dependency, but it has its own parliament and a lot of domestic legislative and political autonomy. In the late 1990s, the Treasury decided it had better get serious about e-commerce if the economy here was going to remain competitive.  So in 2000 they appointed a Director of e-commerce whose job it is to encourage e-business on the Island and things have been going from strength to strength ever since.  The Island now has an legislation supporting e-business, an excellent telecommunications infrastructure, zero rate of corporate taxation and a supportive government that is attracting world-class enterprises here.

For example, the on-line gaming sector flouishes with industry leaders Microgaming, Neteller, Inca Gold and several on-line casinos, including Poker Stars,  all making the Isle of Man their headquarters.  This growth has influenced supply of IT services on the Island. UK leaders in IT support, the 2e2 Group now have operations here, and homegrown IT services company Skanco is thriving.  Software developers PDMS not only serves the Island, they have a solid off-island customer base and plan to expand even further.  Central Software, Synapse Consulting and Island Web Works are other key players in the Isle of Man software industry.  Hosting provision is strong too with Domicilium, Manx Telecom and Mohawk Internet Technologies all leading the way in ISP.

And this is just a sample of the Island’s IT players. And with the package of taxation benefits and easy access to capital markets, e-commerce in the Island of Man is set for continued growth.  So why shouldn’t a tech marketer like me settle here? 

Not to mention the excellent quality of life, mountain peaks, rugged coastline and sandy beaches.  And daily flights to London take only about an hour and cost about £40 return if you book ahead. So what’s not to love?