Document accessibility is arguably considered one of the most important technology trends that has emerged over past few years—and there is a reason. Disability is not a minority issue, as demonstrated by the following statistics: Disabled people make up 10% of the population, around 777 million people. 1 According to the
American Foundation for the Blind, 3.5% of the population live with vision impairment. That amounts to 253 million people: 36 million are blind and 217 million have moderate to severe vision loss.
Today, a responsible business strategy involves more than adopting a few accessible practices. Businesses are recognizing that implementing a complete platform for the creation and management of accessible documents is not only beneficial for the company’s reputation, but it can also mean positive results for the bottom line. For organizations seeking to attract this demographic, the value of accessibility is considerable as those with disabilities choose to do business with a company based on whether they can access their products or services. C-level leaders responsible for increased market share and gaining e-commerce trafic have accelerated their focus on digital accessibility initiatives significantly over the last 18 months. However, it goes deeper than just the prospective opportunity of greater market share.
The task of making a document accessible can be overwhelming as each document presents its own individual challenges. However, there are software solutions and a wide range of tailored services available that meet the document accessibility needs of all organizations, large and small. This white paper, commissioned by Crawford Technologies, discusses best practices for implementing an accessibility initiative program that is good for users, ensures compliance and, ultimately, good for business.
