What Is Driving The Digital Economy?
We have entered the era of cognitive systems that provide artificial intelligence in helping to make decisions. scientists and engineers around the world are pushing the boundaries of science and technology to create machines that sense, learn, reason, and interact with people in new ways to provide insight and advice. This trend is creating an improved quality of life for those living with disabilities. How is your organization preparing to compete in a rapidly changing world of compliance standards and inclusion best practices?
At a fundamental level, all design is governance, Amber Case
A paradigm shift in society, driven by consumer demand, miniaturization, cloud sourcing, and wireless mobile devices, is placing greater power in the hands of consumers, and having a profound impact on the workplace and organization infrastructure stability. However, the ability to use new emerging technologies is currently at the heart of social inclusion, with those excluded being left out of many work, entertainment, communication, healthcare and social benefits. Automation without colaboration within an organization will create systemic barriers. As we approach the intersection of people and machines, the rapid change in society is having an impact on the way we interact with one another and how we conduct daily life tasks. More and more companies are acknowledging the importance of work-life balance. Attitude and Systemic barriers influence both productivity and market growth.
Accessibility Is An Investment
Accessibility has become a mainstream requirement that can transform the business, and every part of the organization should be involved in creating a holistic strategy for embedding accessibility across the entire enterprise. Accessibility should be viewed as an investment, and not a cost burden. Investing in a well-defined accessibility strategy will only improve development effectiveness, testing efficiencies, and user satisfaction. Fundamentally, accessibility is about expanding market opportunities to achieve sustainable growth in revenue, return on investment, and profitability; And not just about meeting legal compliance.
- Project leaders must understand how to integrate accessibility into the project life cycle and ensure quality control.
- Managers must be trained in allocating accessible resources, monitoring accessibility testing, and scheduling accessibility improvements for implementation.
- Designers and developers must understand the end-user experience, and be trained in WCAG implementation techniques and W3C/ARIA enhanced functionality.
- W3C Tutorials and Courses
The Disability Advantage
Companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities in their workforce have outperformed their peers, according to the Accenture research study. The 45 companies identified as standing out for their leadership in areas specific to disability employment and inclusion had, on average over the four-year period, 28 percent higher revenue, double the net income and 30 percent higher economic profit margins than their peers. The analysis also revealed that U.S. GDP could get a boost of up to US$25 billion if more persons with disabilities joined the labor force.
Accenture Disability Inclusion Research Report: The Disability Inclusion Advantage (PDF)