Delivered by Treasury’s Information Systems Division (ISD), the project provides a totally integrated voice, data and video network across the whole of Government and offers realisable savings of around GBP1.4 million a year.

“This project is a key piece of the technology infrastructure which will enable the delivery of real joined-up Government. It will help Government become more efficient and effective in providing services for the public of the Isle of Man," commented Allan Paterson, Director of ISD, who praised the contribution of the principal partners in the project, Manx Telecom, Dimension Data and Improcom.

“Without the drive and commitment from the top that each of our partners has demonstrated, we would have struggled to deliver this so effectively," Mr Paterson stated.

He also paid tribute to the strong competition for the award which covered international banks based in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Italy; a major oil company; technology organisations; and other European public sector environments.

The awards recognise those organisations at the forefront of deploying and successfully implementing innovative technologies, rewarding companies leading the field in delivering real and tangible benefits as a result.

This year the judging panel were looking for advanced technology initiatives that could clearly demonstrate the benefits of well-managed deployment, that delivered significant improvements, and that introduced innovative new services through the effective use of technology.

In making the award to the Isle of Man Government, the judges noted that the Connect Mann infrastructure has allowed the Isle of Man to integrate and unify the delivery of services and is the first end-to-end deployment of Cisco technology across a complete public sector entity. The judges also commented on the innovative and appropriate use of voice, data and video linked to the development of innovative public services.