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Accessibility in an on Demand Era

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Accessibility in an on Demand Era IBM Accessibility Center March 2004 www.ibm.com/able Question and Answer Document Accessibility in an on demand era Q1: What is the IBM Accessibility Center? A1: Stemming from the IBM Special Needs Systems group, the IBM Accessibility Center was created in 2000 to apply research technologies to solve problems experienced by people with disabilities. In 2002, the Accessibility Center team expanded its focus to include access to information by virtually anyone under virtually any circumstances. IBM Accessibility Center locations are in the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia. Key initiatives include: y Driving accessibility as a worldwide IBM strategic initiative. y Driving accessibility of IBM products. y Developing or licensing key assistive technologies. y Pursuing partnerships to co-market accessibility solutions. y Creating comprehensive accessibility architectures and leading cross-IBM implementation. y Guiding and participating in external regulations, standards and technology organizations. Q2: What does accessibility mean to information technology (IT) providers? A2: Accessibility means enabling IT hardware, software and services to be used by more people, either directly or in combination with assistive technology products. IBM is taking the lead in making IT accessible to many people, including those with disabilities. Helping more people benefit from computing and information resources is part of IBM’s larger vision of on demand computing. e-business on demand™ promises to make a wide range of affordable business services readily accessible and easy to use. Accessibility features will be embedded in on demand technology as a benefit that can easily be activated if needed to support employees with temporary or chronic disabilities or simply adjusting to characteristics associated with aging. Technologies such as voice recognition, wireless communications and speech output improve the ability to access IT for those who have disabilities and are also increasingly in demand by today’s society seeking convenience and ease of use. IBM is committed to creating accessible and easy-to-use technologies that will enhance the overall workplace environment and contribute to the productivity of all employees. Q3: What is assistive technology? A3: Assistive technology is specialized hardware or software that is used to help increase, maintain or assist the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. It can be any device or technique that assists people in removing or reducing barriers to computing technology and information and enhances their everyday activities. An example of assistive technology is a screen reader, which uses a text-to-speech synthesizer to translate what is displayed on a screen into audible text. 1 Q4: When did IBM become involved in accessibility? A4: IBM has had a long history of commitment to accessibility since 1914, when IBM hired its first disabled employee, 76 years before the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Additionally, as both an IT company and a developer of assistive technology, IBM can provide clients accessible solutions that align with their business initiatives. For more information on IBM’s history in accessibility visit ibm.com/able/history. Q5: Why is IBM focusing on accessibility? A5: According to the World Health Organization, of the world’s more than six billion people, between 750 million and one billion have a disability. In the United States alone, there are over 54 million people with disabilities. The number is increasing, in part, because people are living longer and health programs are continually improving. Disability refers to one or a combination of the following: blindness or visual impairment; deafness or being hard of hearing; motor or mobility impairment; and reading or cognitive impairment. Also significant is the aging population, because as people age they may begin to experience one or more disability characteristics. The accessibility of IT is essential because it can allow use by and facilitate the daily lives of many people with disabilities – both at home and at work. Accessibility affects many aspects of an IT business, and IBM recognizes the importance of enabling its products and services to help serve the various needs of the abled and the disabled. Additionally, to continue to sell products and services to the federal government, IBM must provide accessible solutions. In 1998, the U.S. Congress amended the existing Rehabilitation Act with Section 508, requiring federal agencies to acquire electronic and IT products and services that are accessible to people with disabilities. Enforcement of this law began in June of 2001. Q6: To whom does U.S. Section 508 apply? A6: U.S. Section 508 applies to federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508, agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others. Section 508 applies to all electronic and IT products procured by the federal government after June 21, 2001. It was enacted to eliminate barriers in IT, to make new opportunities available for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. Q7: Are there any products that are exempt from Section 508? A7: No specific products are exempt from Section 508. However, Section 508 does not apply to: y U.S. federal micropurchases made prior to October 2004. However, even for micropurchases made prior to this date, U.S. federal contracting officers are strongly encouraged to make micropurchases that comply with the applicable accessibility standards to the maximum extent practicable. y Electronic IT that is used for a national security system. y Electronic IT acquired by a contractor incidental to a contract. y Electronic IT located in spaces frequented only by service personnel for maintenance, repair or occasional monitoring of equipment. Examples may include servers, disk storage devices, tape storage devices and the interconnection devices associated with these items. y Electronic IT that would impose an undue burden on the federal agency. Undue burden means there are circumstances that make it extremely expensive or difficult to comply. 2 Q8: Was IBM involved with the introduction of Section 508? A8: IBM was vice-chair of the committee that developed recommendations on which the final Section 508 standard was based. Q9: Will IBM publish a list of products that support U.S. Section 508 along with corresponding industry voluntary product assessment templates (VPATs)? A9: Today IBM includes information about accessibility features and support for Section 508 standards in the product announcement materials. IBM continues to investigate the feasibility of publishing IBM product Section 508 VPATs. Q10: Which clients will IBM’s accessibility initiative target? A10: The relationship is particularly relevant to governments in the U.S., Europe, Asia and Australia, given Section 508 and similar accessibility-related regulation in other parts of the world, but the private sector can also benefit as it moves towards accessible IT. Q11: How does IBM plan to work with clients to help them receive the biggest benefit from accessibility? A11: To help clients maximize the benefits of accessible technologies, IBM and the IBM Accessibility Center will focus on three key areas: y Aligning accessibility with client business initiatives – Through its consulting services, IBM can evaluate and understand clients’ key business initiatives and help them incorporate accessibility into their solutions. Solutions consist of services, hardware, software, and in some cases, research to provide customized accessible solutions. To help reduce total cost of ownership, IBM will focus on interoperability and compatibility with existing infrastructure. y Providing more people with access to technology and information – By providing consultation and hardware, software and solutions that are accessible, IBM helps give people of varied abilities access to information and technology. This will help IBM clients respond more quickly to the IT access needs of their clients, constituents and employees, and can result in lower support costs. For example, by offering an accessible Web site, agency staff can offload handling of repetitive tasks such as answering commonly asked constituent questions; this can help reduce operational costs for items such as call centers, printing and postage. The improved flexibility offered by accessible online tools can help improve an agency’s ability to deliver services to a broader range of constituents as well, and may also improve satisfaction by allowing constituents to access information at their convenience via an accessible Web site, rather than obtaining information only during staffed office hours. Giving people of all abilities access to information and technology helps provide employers larger skill and hiring pools and helps reduce government support costs. From a marketplace perspective, building accessibility features into products and services means reaching more clients – for more profit potential. y Enabling clients to use innovative technology – By working with IBM, clients can have access to innovative technologies that can be incorporated into products and services and integrated into existing business initiatives, helping them reach new markets and provide differentiation. This can help increase customer satisfaction and employee
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