October 2014

Size matters. How do you grow your business, when the local market in Jersey is small and finite? Simple. You sell overseas. And there you have, at its most basic level, the growth strategy for the finance industry, which brings millions of pounds of investment into the island every year. On a lower level, it’s the same with the tourism industry – it’s an exporter, in the sense of giving people outside of Jersey a compelling reason to spend their money inside Jersey.

Which brings me to the digital sector – to win its spurs it needs to export…and so this month in Connect, we profile one of the Jersey digital businesses that is doing just that: the Total Solutions Group. See page 48 if you want to follow in their footsteps. 

There is another solution, though. On page 71, we take a look at Lucas Brothers – a country business which has come to town, and gone online, in a bid to diversify away from its traditional model. 

The link between the two is technology – creating opportunities and efficiencies by using the kit we have (often permanently) at our fingertips. As some of the election candidates will tell you, that’s also the future for government services in Jersey. That word ‘technology’ squares the circle that has vexed senior politicians for the last decade: how do you reduce public expenditure (essential to balance the books), without reducing public services (not good for re-election prospects)?

Genius! We use technology to get more efficient – but as Mike King explains on page 20, there is rather more to it than that. It’s also about providing better services by changing the way they are delivered. 

Also in Connect this month: Viewpoint considers the future of Funds in Jersey: four industry experts discuss the one change they would make to this vital sector. Turn to page 54 to see how they would like to see the future unfold. 

And in a chastening moment of self-realisation, the Fool discovers the true meaning of the word ‘idiot’; and then realises it applies to most of us. There is one thing you can do though, to shed the heavy cloak of idiocy – and that’s vote on 15 October – find out why on page 58. 

So there you have it. From exports, through technology, with a brief stop at efficiency on the way. It’s all in a month’s work at Connect. 

Remember, if you have reached the stage when another election poster, or another smiling politician promising you solutions in return for a tiny ‘x’ on a piece of paper, will make you clamber onto the barricades next to your compadre the Fool - there is only one thing you need to remember: Keep Calm and Read Connect.