Exactly one year after Ernst & Young’s Isle of Man first Website went live, the Island firm has launched seven new Websites.
These seven Websites combine to make the Isle of Man’s largest Internet portal for business and financial services.
All the sites can be accessed from the directory of the main Ernst & Young site .
At launch the combined sites comprise over 200 separate sections, 2,000 "pages", two libraries, with more than 50 downloadable publications, and two business News Rooms, which have been compiled in conjunction with Isle of Man Newspapers.
The main site contains considerable information on the Isle of Man as a leading international financial centre, the political and cultural background, the economy, finance, legal and tax data and the many benefits of undertaking business in and from the Island.
The site has sections on banking, fund management, insurance and pensions, international taxation, regulatory authorities, depositors’ protection and "Know Your Customer" schemes, money laundering prevention, incentive schemes for industry, Island maps and communications and much more.
The TaxCentre Website includes information on the Island’s tax structures, future taxation strategy, budgets, comparisons with other countries, corporate structures and E&Y’s International Services. A particular feature of TaxCentre is E&Y’s unique "TaxOmeter" an interactive Income Tax calculator which will calculate and compare tax liabilities in the Isle of Man, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
A sister site to TaxCentre is TrustCentre which provides information on trusts in the Isle of Man, key features and benefits and E&Y services.
Two of the Island’s expanding industries, ship and yacht registration and management and the film industry are given their own Websites. FilmMann provides information on film financing, locations, film reviews, details of films released, those in production and planning and links to each film’s own Website. ShipMann details the many benefits of registering ships and yachts under the Manx "Red Duster", fees schemes, and management services available.
Ernst & Young’s NewsMann site is already known to many Internet business users. NewsMann is an online business news service for the Isle of Man and is compiled from news stories from the Isle of Man Examiner and the Manx Independent. The site already has over 1,000 articles and photographs which can be sourced by date or by using the site’s search facility for topic or key word.
The growing interest in the Island as a centre for E-Commerce is dealt with extensively in e-Com Island. It details the challenges, solutions, the advantages of the Island, legislation, telecommunications, forthcoming events, enabling and support services, training and education and a very comprehensive library.
e-Com Island has its own News Room with articles relating to E-Commerce on the Island compiled by Ernst & Young and Isle of Man Newspapers.
Within all the sites are links to many other useful and relevant Websites, including the Isle of Man Government, international and offshore business and news sites and all of E&Y’s international offices.
Said Larry Kearns, Managing Partner of E&Y Isle of Man: "We launched our first Island site in February 2000 and it received a lot of praise and won several Internet business design awards. It also became one of the most visited of all Ernst & Young Websites.
"After the launch of our original site, and working with our international offices, we started to research and develop new ideas for the promotion of the Island and our professional services. We determined that any new sites should contain extensive information on the Island and its advantages as well as the professional services provided by Ernst & Young. From this research we decided that we should have more than one site and would develop sites that promoted specific sections of the Island’s economy and this resulted in us producing the sites which are available today.
"We also decided that all these sites should be linked and cross referenced under one banner, ey.com/im, which has resulted in what is a comprehensive business portal for the Isle of Man.
"Other decisions we made concerned the design of the sites, they must be clean and well presented, written in concise, understandable English, not technical jargon, and easy to navigate.
"All this was made possible by having total control of our sites here on the Isle of Man. We have our own E&Y server, which is replicated in New York and Singapore through EYI and we programme everything ourselves from our Island office.
"We are indebted to the many Island companies and organisations who have helped us build these sites and especially Isle of Man Newspapers with whom we worked to construct NewsMann and our e-Com News Room. By working together we are promoting the many benefits of the Isle of Man to the outside world through a very powerful medium.
"The sites will be promoted internationally through Ernst & Young’s world-wide offices and the many links we already have, and will continue to make, with online publications, news services and directories.
"We shall be constantly developing and adding to our sites and using new technology as it evolves, as part of our international marketing strategy, for the benefit not only of Ernst & Young but the Isle of Man as a whole."
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