Office of Disability Employment Policy

Accessible Technology in the Workplace

The Global Business Benefits of Accessible Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Design

Office of Disability Employment Policy
U.S. Department of Labor

BPA Number DOLQ089427777

Order Number DOLU099429324

September 2010

This research project was funded by the Office of Disability Employment Policy, US Department of Labor, under a contract to Economic Systems Inc. The document was developed by Ideal Group, Inc in partnership with Economic Systems Inc and Bender Consulting Services (the research team). The findings presented in this document reflect the review by and input of the research team. The opinions contained in this document do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Labor, or any other agency or department of the federal government, or any other organization or individual.

Written by:

Steve Jacobs

President, IDEAL Group, Inc.
CEO, Apps4android, Inc.
Hilliard, Ohio
August 2010

Table of Contents

1.Introduction and Background

2.What is ICT?

2.1.The Problem and Opportunity: ICT Trade Balance

2.2.Small and Medium-Sized Business Exporters

2.3.Large Manufacturers

3.Market Forces Driving the Design of Accessible ICT

3.1.Supply-Push Market Forces

3.2.Demand-Pull Market Forces

4.Factors Influencing Accessibility

4.1.Consumer Behavior

4.2.Technology Trends

5.Consumer Groups that can benefit from Accessible ICT Design

5.1.People with Disabilities

5.2.People 65 and Older

5.3.People Living in Smartphone-Predominant Environments

5.3.1.Additional Business Case: Wireless Devices

5.4.Users of English as a Second Language

5.5.Individuals Who Never Learned to Read

6.Overview of the ICT Access Needs of People with Disabilities

6.1.Different learning styles

6.2.Different Levels of Experience Using Technology

6.3.ICT Access Needs of People with Disabilities

6.3.1.People Who Are Blind or Have Visual Impairments

6.3.2.People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

6.3.3.People with Mobility Impairments

6.3.4.People with Intellectual Disabilities

6.3.5.People with Speech and Language Disabilities

6.3.6.People with Color Blindness

7.Plain Language Web Accessibility Guidelines

8.Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

8.1.SEO Webmaster Guidelines

8.2.Technical Guidelines

8.3.Quality Guidelines

Appendix A: Legislation

A.1. ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities

A.2. Supplementary Information to the ADA and ABA Guidelines

A.3. Telecommunications Act Accessibility Guidelines

A.4. Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards

A.5. Draft ICT Standards and Guidelines

Appendix B: Additional Department of Commerce Resources for Exporters

B.1. Online Resouces

B.2. Tutorials

B.3. Exporter Database

B.4. Market Research

B.5. STAT-USA/Internet Products and Services

Appendix C: IBM SME Toolkit for Women and Minorities

Appendix D: Overview of Business Benefits of WCAG

Appendix E: Positive Business Impacts of Accessible Web Site Design

E.1. Captioning for Multimedia

E.1.1 Explanation

E.1.2. Business Benefits

E.2.1. Explanation

E.2.2. Business Benefits

E.3. Clear Navigation

E.3.1 Explanation

E.3.2. Business Benefits

E.4. Color Independence

E.4.1. Explanation

E.4.2. Business Benefits

E.5. Device Independence

E.5.1. Explanation

E.5.2. Business Benefits

E.6. Metadata

E.6.1. Explanation

E.6.2. Business Benefits

E.7. Separate Structure from Presentation

E.7.1. Explanation

E.7.2. Business Benefits

E.8. Text Alternatives

E.8.1. Explanation

E.8.2 Business Benefits

References

Foreword

This publication is an informative document written in support of helping to revitalize U.S. ICT businesses, create jobs for Americans, including Americans with disabilities, and help put our nation back on the path to sustainable economic growth. This publication supports the goal of President Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI), which is to double American exports over the next five years and support the creation of two million new jobs here at home. Ensuring accessibility for all people benefits businesses, creates jobs, supports the President’s export initiative, and ensures Americans with disabilities have equal access to the workplace.

Developing innovative, high-quality ICT products and services that accommodate the wants, needs, and preferences of as many consumers as technologically possible and economically feasible benefits companies tremendously. It not only enhances a company’s competitive business advantage domestically, but on a global scale as well.

This publication provides insights and information that encourage and help companies involved in the burgeoning ICT marketplace grow their businesses. It also provides good business reasons to make their workplaces technologically accessible. This publication includes references for the academic community as well.

Google has made a significant impact on the accessibility of websites through their page ranking methodology, which ranks websites higher if they are accessible. As a result, the importance of search engine optimization is also highlighted in this publication. In the world of search engines, better accessibility means a higher search engine listing, and a higher listing means a greater likelihood that customers will click on your web links to read about your products and services. Accessible design can significantly increase search engine optimization scores, that results in a higher search result listing.

Many of the information resources, consulting services, and databases referenced in this publication are offered and maintained by various offices within the U.S. Department of Commerce. When explored, they can be used to great business advantage. The goal of this publication is to enlighten readers about the incredible opportunities that exist on a global basis for companies developing and manufacturing more accessible ICT products and services.

Steve Jacobs, President
IDEAL Group, Inc. and,
CEO, Apps4Android, Inc.

1.Introduction and Background

In today’s global economic environment, businesses are serving populations they have never before served. Every consumer is different. No two individuals have the same life experiences, talents, learning styles, physical abilities, work experiences, or educational backgrounds.

During these challenging economic times, it is not a Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO) job to maximize employment, it is his or her job to maximize customer value, find and develop new business opportunities, expand markets for the company’s products and services, and most importantly, ensure the company’s future growth potential and prosperity. Increases in employment follow.

Designing ICT products and services with accessibility in mind makes those products usable by consumers in all corners of the world.Good business practices dictate that programmers, designers, developers, and engineers consciously and proactively avoid excluding large groups of consumers from accessing and using their companies’ ICT products and services.

Global populations at the highest risk of being “technologically isolated” are much larger than one might think. They include:

• People having disabilities that directly impact their ability to access and use ICT. These disabilities include those that impact one’s hearing, vision, speech, mobility and cognition.
• Individuals over 65 years old.
• People living in low-bandwidth and mobile-predominant environments.
• Users of English as a second language (ESL).
• People who have never learned to read.

This business benefits publication identifies the parallels between designing ICT products and services to accommodate the access needs of individuals with disabilities and creating mainstream business advantages, especially on a global basis.

2.What is ICT?

According to the Access Board’s Draft Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines, “ICT includes, but is not limited to: electronic content, including email, electronic documents and Internet and intranet web sites; telecommunications products, including video communication terminals; computers and ancillary equipment, including external hard drives; software, including operating systems and applications; information kiosks and transaction machines; videos; information technology (IT) services; and multifunction office machines that copy, scan and fax documents.”[i]

2.1.The Problem and Opportunity: ICT Trade Balance

The difference in value over a period of time of a country's imports and exports of merchandise (in this case, ICT products) represents a nation's balance of trade. It is favorable when exports exceed imports. Unfortunately, such is not the case with regard to the U.S.'s ICT trade balance.

Between 1999 and 2009, U.S. exports of ICT products increased from $60.1 billion to more than $160 billion. During that same time period, U.S. imports of ICT products increased from $69.8 billion to more than $266.6 billion. This represents an increase of our negative ICT trade balance from $9.6 billion to $106 billion, a negative increase of 1100 percent.[ii] The only way to reduce this deficit is if more small businesses developed ICT products and services that are accessible, usable, useful and desired by consumers living in other countries.

Global marketing has become more important over the past five years as a result of increased trends in internationalization.Given that this publication is focused on the global business benefits of accessible ICT design with regard to exportation, below is an overview of some of the benefits of exporting, as cited by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

2.2.Small and Medium-Sized Business Exporters

Small and medium-sized firms account for the vast majority of growth in new exporters.[iii] Small and medium-sized companies account for almost 97 percent of U.S. exporters, but still represent only about 30 percent of the total export value of U.S. goods.

Because nearly two-thirds of small and medium-sized exporters only sell to one foreign market, many of these firms could boost exports by expanding the number of countries they sell to.

More than two-thirds of exporters have fewer than 20 employees.

The benefits of exporting are numerous:[iv]

• Ninety-five percent of the world's consumers live outside of the United States; if a U.S. business is only selling domestically, it is only reaching a small share of potential customers.
• Exporting enables companies to diversify their portfolios and help them weather downturns in the domestic economy, as the U.S. is now experiencing.
• Exporting helps small companies grow and become more competitive.
• Free trade agreements have opened up markets in Australia, Chile, Singapore, Jordan, Israel, Canada, Mexico, and countries in Central America, creating more opportunities for U.S. businesses.
• About one of every five factory jobs—or 20 percent of all jobs in America's manufacturing sector—depends on exports. Workers in jobs supported by merchandise exports typically receive wages higher than the national average.
• Smallbusinesses create 70 percent of the new jobs in America.

2.3.Large Manufacturers

The total planned federal government spending on information technology in 2011 is $79.4 billion, a 1.2 percent increase from the 2010 budget level of $78.4 billion.[v]

Table 1. 2009-2011 Federal IT Spending Budgets

Item / 2009 / 2010 / 2011
Number of Major IT Project Investments / 807 / 781 / 809
Number of all IT Project Investments / 6,575 / 7,409 / 7,463
Major IT Investment Spending (in million $) / $37,250 / $40,328 / $40,409
All IT Investment Spending (in million$) / $71,227 / $78,440 / $79,375
Notes: The table compares the budgets, not final actual or enacted levels for 2009 or 2010. Values for 2011 are based on the best available agency estimates.

Given that the U.S. government spends well in excess of $65 billion a year on ICT products and services, it is understandable why so many large ICT manufacturers have dedicated themselves to understanding the opportunities surrounding the design of more accessible ICT products.

U.S. manufacturers that design accessible ICT products for the domestic market have discovered that their innovative designs can benefit them in foreign markets with similar, ICT access-focused legislation. Over the past seven years, many major ICT manufacturers have created divisions dedicated solely to accessible ICT design practices. Table 2 below lists the accessible design home pages of some of these companies. These sites can be visited to learn more about the design techniques being used to enhance accessibility. Note that the companies listed in Table 2 generated $694 billion in revenue in 2009.

Table 2. Accessible Design Web Sites of Major ICT Manufacturers

Company / Company Accessibility Webpage / 2009 Revenue (millions)
AT&T / / $123,018
Hewlett-Packard / / $114,552
Verizon Communications / / $107,808
IBM / / $95,758
Microsoft / / $58,437
Dell / / $52,902
Apple / / $36,537
Cisco Systems, Inc. / / $36,117
Google / / $23,651
Oracle / / $23,252
Motorola / / $22,063
Total: / $694,095

3.Market Forces Driving the Design of Accessible ICT

The term, “market forces” refers to the interactions of supply and demand that shape a market economy. For the purpose of this paper, the term market forces is used to describe the market pressures, both positive and negative, that drive companies to develop ICT products and services that are accessible by individuals with disabilities.

3.1.Supply-Push Market Forces

A supply-push market force is a term that describes a marketing environment in which manufacturers and suppliers are pushed (often forced) to develop accessible ICT products and services.

Historically, the market forces driving the design of accessible ICT products and services have been driven by the need to accommodate the access needs of people with disabilities. These market forces have been “supply-push” in nature. Supply-push market forces that COMPEL companies to enhance the accessibility of their ICT products and services include:

• Cultural pressure
• Organizational pressure
• Morals
• Politics
• Ethics
• Laws

The effects of supply-push market forces on accessible design are not always self-sustainable in the absence of the market force itself. For example, if it did not violate the law (ADA's Title III), establishing inaccessible places of public accommodation (i.e., restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors' offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, etc.) would be commonplace. Supply-push market forces are best known for helping companies avoid costs, including legal and other costs.

3.2.Demand-Pull Market Forces

A demand-pull market force is a term that describes a marketing environment in which customers have the desire to purchase a company’s ICT products and services because of their accessibility; essentially, customers pull a company’s products off the shelves. This environment is much more pleasing and profitable for companies to operate in than supply-push market environments.

Demand-pull market forces motivatecompanies to proactively enhance accessible design practices, and include:

• Increasing operational efficiency,
• Increasing sales, and
• Penetrating new markets.

4.Factors Influencing Accessibility

4.1.Consumer Behavior

ICT is predominant in schools, libraries, homes, work environments, places of recreation, banks, and even supermarkets. It is because of this access to technology, that consumers are much more technologically literate than they were five years ago.

Devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers, fax to e-mail, and other wireless services enable us to carry our offices with us when we travel. We are now more mobile than ever before.

Consumers have become accustomed to getting the information they need when they need it, where they need it. In other words, the information is customized to meet their individual wants, needs and preferences.

4.2.Technology Trends

It is difficult to find people in the business world who do not use some type of wireless device. The most common are smartphones, which include iPhones and Blackberrys as well as iPads.

The increased processing power of these and other wireless devices is enabling manufacturers to increase functionality.[vi] Enhancements of this type drive sales upward. It is evident by looking at wireless devices that they are getting smaller. Small devices have small keyboards and small displays. While these trends increase portability, they can also decrease usability.

The only way to make these devices easier to use as they get smaller is to design them for access. To increase access, some ICT manufacturers are using technological innovations that were originally pioneered by Bell Labs in support of people who are deaf. These technologies include Text-To-Speech (TTS) synthesis and Automated Voice Recognition (AVR).

5.Consumer Groups that can benefit from Accessible ICT Design

5.1.People with Disabilities

The U.S. Government maintains statistics on the number of people with disabilities living in the United States. This data varies by source. For example, Table 3 lists percentages of the total population having different types of disabilities.

Telephones, the Internet, microphone, stereophonic speakers, and computers were pioneered in support of people with disabilities.[vii] These products are also a part of a growing movement to design accessible ICT that "accommodates the wants, needs, and preferences of as many individual consumers asreasonable, technically possible, and economically feasible.”

Table 3. Percentage of Non-Institutionalized U.S.Population Reporting a Type of Disability in 2008[viii]

Disability Category / Percentage of Total Population / Population
Any Disability / 12.1% / 37,538,176
Ambulatory / 6.9% / 21,406,068
Cognitive / 4.8% / 14,891,177
Self-Care / 2.6% / 8,066,054
Hearing / 3.5% / 10,858,150
Visual / 2.3% / 7,135,356
Independent Living / 5.5% / 17,062,807

Table 4 below highlights the estimated number of people whose disabilities preclude their being able to access and use ICT. Companies interested in marketing their ICT products and services for use by these consumers stand to benefit greatly by designing accessible ICT.

This table differs from Table 3 in that it only lists numbers of consumers who have a vision, hearing, cognitive, or mobility disability in the top 10 emerging markets (countries) based on their market size.[ix] The countries cited in this publication were identified as part of a study conducted by MichiganStateUniversity's Centers for International Business Education and Research (MSU-CIBER). Market size is determined by urban population (millions) and electricity consumption (billions per kwh). It is interesting to note that the rank by market size is highly correlated with the estimated number of people whose disabilities preclude them from accessing and using ICT.

Table 4. Estimated Number of People Whose Disabilities Preclude Their Being Able to Access and Use ICT by Emerging Countries

Country / Estimated number of people whose disabilities preclude their being able to access and use ICT / Country rank by market size
China / 160,947,097 / 1
India / 141,946,070 / 2
Russian Federation / 16,866,215 / 3
Brazil / 24,333,503 / 4
Indonesia / 29,399,169 / 5
Mexico / 13,608,731 / 6
Korea,South / 5,884,964 / 7
Turkey / 9,414,299 / 8
SouthAfrica / 5,942,202 / 9
Pakistan / 21,450,468 / 10
World / 826,501,025 / N/A
United States / 37,538,176 / N/A
Canada / 4,084,929 / N/A

5.2.People 65 and Older

The average age of the world’s population is increasing at an unprecedented rate. The number of people worldwide age 65 and older is estimated at 506 million as of mid-year 2008; by 2040, that number will hit 1.3 billion.[x] Thus, in just over 30 years, the proportion of older people will double from 7 percent to 14 percent of the total world population.