Isle of Man connectivity and security

Cybercriminals are increasing both the volume and sophistication of cyber-attacks and, despite the Isle of Man being the safest place to live in the British Isles, Manx organisations are susceptible to online cyber threats. Mike Phillips, chief executive at Sure Isle of Man, shares his thoughts on the offshore standards available to Isle of Man businesses and why it’s important for them to consider their data’s connectivity and security.

In 2021, most organisations’ systems, applications, information and valuable data are all stored in the cloud. A business’ digital data is one of its core assets.  and losing any part of this to a security breach or a system failure could cause an alarming loss in revenue and reputational damage. Businesses therefore need their cybersecurity protection to withstand not only today’s threats, but tomorrow’s as well. It’s a board level issue but something for all users to bear in mind.

Data certainty

As offshore cloud, security and communications specialists, Sure has data centres and cloud services in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey and we are aware of the comfort factor that comes with local hosting and the trust that this gives our customers.

For large organisations, pinpointing sensitive data is difficult enough, but an added layer is introduced in the form of privacy laws that vary depending on whose data it is and where it’s located. Therefore, keeping high-value infrastructure, applications and data in the Isle of Man and Channel Islands, which benefit from data sovereignty as well as stability, regulatory clarity and conformity, makes sense.    

“Data certainty” - the absolute confidence that their data resides in the Crown Dependencies - is something we frequently discuss with our customers.

Investments in the networks

We’ve also taken cybersecurity protections to a new level and we connect directly with top-tier partners including Cisco, Mitel, Microsoft, HP Enterprise, VMWare, Zerto, Veeam, Mimecast and Trustwave for unified communications and advanced cybersecurity protection.

Everything is underpinned by our incredible network - which is linked through the Isle of Man, Dublin, Guernsey, Jersey, London and Paris - and the strength of our converged infrastructure. It’s diversely routed with total resilience that is highly scalable and has massive capacity. Furthermore, our direct connectivity to global network partners through dedicated interconnection points makes us a trusted partner to house your data, not to mention the integration with hyperscale Cloud providers such as Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud to name but a few.

More recently, we have spent the last four years investing millions into our own Wide Area Network (WAN) services in the Isle of Man by expanding the Sure Fibre Access Network – our own network of underground fibre cables designed to provide high-quality private connectivity and fast internet speeds in the Isle of Man. We recognise that flexibility and choice is paramount when investing in a business’ infrastructure and Sure can provide optional methods of effective connectivity.

Specialist connectivity

Optimising IT solutions using cloud technologies and data centres has benefits for businesses and their increasingly mobile customers, so finding the right solution really can have a significant impact on the bottom line.

At Sure we have a team of specialist consultants who can advise on every aspect of your business’ cybersecurity and data management – from the right mix of public and private clouds to specific data residency requirements – and how to maximise them to reap significant business benefits.