A vital and growing presence in the Island IT Industry is how Marshall Media Group (MMG) is described by government and industry officials in response to recent reports that MMG is not living up to the agreement signed with the PEI Government.
"To date the Marshall Media Group has met all obligations agreed to when they opened the Media Development Centre in Charlottetown last year," said Mitch Murphy, Minister of Technology and Environment. "The original agreement included projections on PEI job growth within the company. Marshall Media is fulfilling their obligations in the contract, contrary to recent allegations."
Marshall Media currently employs nine individuals in their Charlottetown office with periodic contract positions being filled for other activities ranging from translation to programming. The Centre continues to develop new projects both in web development and is an acknowledged Atlantic Canada leader in e-commerce, with international clients both in Europe and the United States. Minister Murphy also points out that Marshall Media has provided highly valued services to local organizations, including Island Tel, the PEI Department of Education and Vesey's Seeds Ltd. "I find it interesting that on the same day the Technology critic chooses to attack Marshall Media and the provincial government, the National Post highlights the success of this same company. The positive profile provided by the national media is important in attracting investment into this province," says Murphy.
Financial assistance offered to IT firms creates a positive atmosphere for the industry to grow, similar to financial incentives offered to other Island business sectors such as tourism, agri-food, or the aero-space industry. Ron Waite, President of Island Tel Advanced Solutions agrees with this approach. "We appreciate the efforts government has made to encourage and grow the IT industry on Prince Edward Island. We believe there's lots of room for everyone. If we are going to be successful, then we will need to encourage and nurture local firms and entrepreneurs, while at the same time recruiting established firms from outside the province to set up shop here. That's not unlike the approach to economic development and industrial prospecting that's been taken in many other sectors of our economy."
Holland College, a partner with MMG on a number of innovative IT areas, foresees the creation of distance learning technologies through the Internet as a growth area, an area MMG is actively planning for with the College. The distance learning project is the type of initiative that holds the potential to create jobs in the short term with the possible long term development of a market sector specialization for PEI.
Minister Murphy notes that Vesey's Seeds Ltd. is so impressed with MMG and their web development that the seed supplier credits expansion of their own business in part to the successful new web site and on-line catalogue MMG produced for them. John Barrett of Vesey's Seeds acknowledges the cost of MMG's services was more than other local web developers but felt it was justified. Mr. Barrett emphasizes that Vesey's benefitted greatly from MMG's product and that, "We now have one of the most successful e-commerce catalogues on the market because of MMG's experience and depth in e-commerce implementation." He also identifies any government assistance provided to Marshall Media as having wider economic benefits than just with that firm or the IT industry.
"Government continues to be satisfied with the performance and contributions Marshall Media Group is giving to the Island's growing IT industry," says Minister Murphy. "To suggest MMG is not a positive force in the development of this industry on PEI is to ignore the overwhelming evidence to the contrary," concluded Minister Murphy.