Cayman Islands: Technology: A key business driver

Article by Richard Munday Published by Cayman Finance

Cayman’s mature information and communications technology infrastructure has been an important draw for businesses to domicile in this jurisdiction, as highly prized as its high regulatory standards and tax-neutral status.

There is a thriving ecosystem of information and communications technology in Cayman, all delivering a variety of ICT services to businesses that promise security, privacy and service-level guarantees. In particular, the island depends upon a first-class, dependable and secure fibre optic network, which has been vital to the success of the Cayman Islands.

In recent months, the telecoms industry has pledged to augment the already extensive fibre footprint in Cayman with new fibre installations around the island. By providing world-class services to the Cayman Islands, telecommunications improve along with entertainment services, while economic growth will also be fostered, which means that ultimately everyone in the community benefits.

Telecoms companies are evolving to provide specific services requested by the financial services industry, which not only include fast and reliable Internet access, but also predictable access to the world’s markets. Financial services industry customers have sophisticated requirements, including demands for predictable performance for their trading applications. While private dedicated circuits are the standard method by which connectivity is offered by telecoms providers for their customers to the global markets, new products such as Predictable IP for traders give financial services industry customers the perfect trade between private circuits and the Internet.

Along with telecoms providers, data centre and hosting providers need to be agile, as Taron Jackman, partner with Deloitte, explains: “There is no standard company in Cayman – there are clients who need dedicated server rooms for a complete production site, through to clients who simply need a recovery seat. The aim is to provide flexible infrastructure tailored to each specific organisation”.

Cayman Enterprise City (CEC) is a Special Economic Zone created by the Cayman Government and is one such example of a thriving sector of industry, the success of which has been largely dependent on a fast and reliable telecommunications network. It enables international businesses to move more quickly and cost-effectively to establish a physical presence in the Cayman Islands and benefit from substantial operational cost savings, provided by unique concessions granted by the Cayman Islands Government. CEC has benefitted extensively from the high level of telecommunications service offered in the Cayman Islands. It is anticipated that, in turn, CEC will help to facilitate further growth of this sector within the Cayman Islands when its five business parks are developed, with one, the Cayman Internet & Technology Park, concentrating on attracting companies within the sector.

A first-class, dependable and secure telecommunications network is vital to the success of the Cayman Islands international business segment. As the demand for capacity and data speeds increases, companies will be assured to know that there are facilities in place that can meet all of Cayman’s international bandwidth requirements, for the foreseeable future.

Through business-friendly legislation aimed at fostering the offshore market and complete redundancy of ICT infrastructure, the Cayman Islands is well positioned to exceed the needs of international business today and in the future.

About the Author

In Richard Munday’s role as Vice President of International Business Development at Keytech, he can be found dealing with contract disputes, network design, regulatory fillings, financial modeling or a myriad of other challenges. What fulfills his life at work is solving unusual problems through collaborating with his internal and external colleagues.

IMAGE: blog.techimpact.org

Caribbean leaders address risk reduction in Martinique

From SKN Vibes

FORT-DE-FRANCE, Martinique (July 2, 2014) – The first international seminar for the Greater Caribbean’s “CARIB RISK CLUSTER” recently ended in Martinique with the signing of a cooperative agreement to address risk reduction across the region.

The meeting addressed the many aspects of risk reduction, including the prevention and management of disaster risks facing the Caribbean Basin and how to protect human lives and safeguard socio-economic development.

About 150 delegates and officials from seven Caribbean countries and territories: Barbados, Dominica, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Martin and Trinidad and Tobago, focused on thematic areas during the three-day meeting, addressing meteorological risks, town and country planning, health and epidemic risks, and public information services.

The final declaration reiterated a commitment to regional cooperation through the “CARIB RISK CLUSTER”, which was established in 2011 by the General Council of Martinique.

Co-financed by the European Union through the INTERREG CARAIBES IV Programme, the project, originally entitled “Caribbean Cluster on natural risks and risks from the sea,” seeks to coordinate and strengthen risk management policies in the region.

Delegates agreed to leverage the combined efforts of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPDEM), and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA).

This resulted in the signing of an agreement between the General Council of Martinique, represented by its President Mrs. Josette Martin, and CDEMA’s Executive Director, Ronald Jackson.

Mrs. Manin, in her capacity as the head of “CARIB RISK CLUSTER”, thanked the participants of the seminar and confirmed her personal and team’s support to pursue a successful completion of this ambitious and important regional project.

For more on this story go to: http://www.sknvibes.com/news/newsdetails.cfm/87980

IMAGE: www.acs-aec.org