The Isle of Man needs to be ahead of its competitors when it comes to proving its credibility as a place to do business. This was the unequivocal message delivered by John Hellowell, managing director of the Strand Group of companies, when hosting a business breakfast at the Sefton Hotel.
The breakfast was held to celebrate the Group – which embraces Strand Cleaners, Storall and Complete Facilities Management – gaining world renowned ISO 27001 information security management system certification. Mr Hellowell reminded guests that in 2009 there were several high profile incidents in the UK where personal, sensitive information was “leaked or lost” through poor, or lack of, proper management controls. “If incidents like that happened here in the Isle of Man it could be a devastating blow for all of us who work for Isle of Man plc, the UK media could have a field day,” he added.
“In early 2009 we embarked on an ambitious project to become one of the very few home-grown companies on the Island to become ISO 27001:2005 certified. It is about how robust management procedures are and how a company looks after the security of its business, from storage of client information through to record keeping and business continuity planning, reducing risks and much more. It says a lot about your ethics. “Keeping information secure is not just a necessary requirement of the banking and finance sector, it is important that we should seriously look at the advantages it brings to all our businesses. Every one of us here today is committed to the prosperity of IoM plc as a quality offshore finance centre, no matter where we are in that chain.”
Guest speaker Denis Taylor, a certified lead assessor and auditor with International Management Systems Marketing, described the Strand Group of companies as flying the flag in leading the way as one of the first companies to attain ISO 27001 on the Isle of Man.
Photography: John Hellowell (right), managing director of Strand Group, with business breakfast guests at the Sefton Hotel. From left Stephen Spencer, Angela Aspen and Alan Clague.
