Isle of Man Government has today announced the results of an independent benchmarking exercise for its online information and services as part of its continued efforts to measure online performance and to determine priorities for the digital strategy.

In summary, the assessment found that:

• The Island’s focus on having a single, accessible web presence – Gov.im was a major reason for it being rated as the “best in Europe” for mobile access.
• The Island has solid technical foundations for its online services and existing services benchmark well.
• Overall the Island performs slightly below the average for all events measured due to the lack of services that can be fully accessed online with the ability to start a business using online channels being the Island’s weakest service measured.

Hon. John Shimmin MHK, Minister for Policy and Reform said: ‘As well as considerable local input to the Digital Strategy, this benchmark provided the opportunity to get objective feedback and learn about the online services that European Governments are prioritising.’

Mr Shimmin continued: ‘Whilst we should be pleased with the positive findings such as mobile access and income tax, we clearly need to do more in other areas to take advantage of the opportunities digital services present. Action is already underway to improve our digital services for both citizens and businesses which in turn underpin our economic growth. The benchmark highlighted the gap we have in supporting businesses activities through digital channels.

‘The Digital Strategy will launch initiatives to assist businesses such as new online systems for the Companies, Ship and Aircraft Registries. We will introduce services to help new businesses set up more quickly, assist employers to find suitable employees and individuals to find the right job opportunities. A new online work permits system will also further reduce the administrative burden on employers and improve the efficiency of the process.’

Mr Shimmin concluded: ‘As a result, I am confident we can build on the solid foundations we already have to improve Government’s performance in digital services quite quickly and I look forward to bringing the Digital Strategy to June’s Tynwald.’

Director of Government Technology Services, Mark Lewin said: ‘The biggest message coming from the benchmark is that whilst the online services we already provide are good, and in some cases such as mobile access, lead the whole of Europe, the quantity of services available must increase. This supports what we heard through the focus groups, through industry input and through the public survey which saw over 70% of respondents supporting the need for more services to be available through digital channels.’

The benchmarking was conducted independently by one of Europe’s leading technology consultancies, Capgemini Consulting, who extended their European Commission sponsored benchmark of 33 European countries to include the Isle of Man. Although the final report is not yet released by the European Commission, an executive summary is now available at www.Gov.im or through the Welcome Centre.