Getting Started with Smart Island
A guide for business leaders, policymakers, and everyone
What is Smart Island?
Smart Island is a free platform that collects Isle of Man public data and makes it searchable, analysable, and AI-accessible. It brings together government data, community open data, and international datasets into one place — with interactive dashboards, REST APIs, and AI-ready MCP tools.
Built by Manx Technology Group, Smart Island covers jobs, vehicles, property, aircraft, weather, grants, heritage, infrastructure, and more — 17 datasets and growing.
Who is it for?
Smart Island is designed for everyone on the Isle of Man — not just technical users.
Business Leaders / CEOs
Market intelligence, competitor analysis, and workforce planning. See which sectors are hiring, what skills are in demand, and how AI is reshaping your industry on the Isle of Man.
Finance Directors / CFOs
Salary benchmarks, property market data, and economic indicators. Compare IoM salaries against UK averages, track property trends, and explore World Bank data for the island.
HR & Recruitment
Skills analysis, visa eligibility checking, and career pathway mapping. Identify skills gaps, find which roles qualify for UK Skilled Worker visas, and explore alternative career paths.
Policymakers
Census data, AI exposure analysis, and economic trends. Understand how automation and AI will affect the island's workforce, and use data to inform policy decisions.
Anyone Curious
Look up any vehicle on the island, check the weather, find available grants, or explore heritage buildings. Smart Island has something for everyone.
How to get started
Browse the data pages
Explore 17 interactive dashboards covering jobs, vehicles, property, weather, grants, heritage, and more.
Data catalogue →Use the AI assistant
Connect any MCP-compatible AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT) to Smart Island and ask questions in natural language.
MCP setup guide →Download open data
Download any dataset as JSON for your own analysis, research, or applications.
Open data downloads →Frequently Asked Questions
Is it free?
Yes, completely free. All data pages, APIs, and MCP tools are open access with no authentication required and no paywalls. Smart Island is a community resource for the Isle of Man.
Where does the data come from?
Government sources (services.gov.im job listings, vehicle registrations, Land Registry, Aircraft Registry), community open data repositories (OpenStreetMap, GitHub), international datasets (World Bank, O*NET, ONS), and AI enrichment using Azure OpenAI. Every source is documented on our data sources page.
What is MCP?
MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open standard that lets AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and others connect to external data sources. Smart Island's MCP server gives AI assistants direct access to Isle of Man data — so you can ask your AI assistant questions like "what jobs are available in Douglas?" or "show me vehicle statistics" and it will query live data.
Can I use the data commercially?
The data is published under open data licences. Government-sourced data follows the IoM Open Government Licence. Community-sourced data (OpenStreetMap) follows ODbL. Check our data sources page for licence details per dataset.
Who built this?
Smart Island is built and maintained by Manx Technology Group (MTG), an Isle of Man technology company specialising in AI, cloud infrastructure, and digital transformation. The platform itself was built with the help of Claude AI.
Want to learn more?
Manx Technology Group runs AI workshops and consultations for Isle of Man businesses. Get in touch to find out how AI and open data can work for your organisation.