Accessibility Mission, Strategy, and Progress

Mission

Accessibility makes it easier for anyone to see, hear, and use a computer, and to personalize their computer to meet their own needs and preferences. For many people with impairments, accessibility is what makes computer use possible.

At Microsoft, our mission is to enable people and businesses throughout the world to realize their full potential. We consider our mission statement a promise to our customers. We deliver on that promise by striving to create technology that is accessible to everyone—regardless of age or ability. Microsoft leads the industry in accessibility innovation and in building products that are safer and easier to use.

About Accessible Technology

Accessible technology is particularly helpful for individuals who experience visual difficulties, pain in the hands or arms, hearing loss, or cognitive challenges. In relation to computers, accessible technology is defined as:

• Accessibility options that let you personalize the computer display, mouse, keyboard, sound, and speech options in Windows and other Microsoft products.
• Assistive technology products are specialty software and hardware products (such as screen readers and specialty keyboards), that provide essential computer access to individuals with significant vision, hearing, dexterity, language or learning needs.
• And, interoperability between assistive technology products, the operating system, and software programs. This is critical for assistive technology products to function properly.

Strategy

Accessibility is a business practice that is part of Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing efforts which focus on integrity and responsibility in our business practices. Microsoft recognizes that trust in computer technology is directly related to trust in the technology industry.

Microsoft takes a strategic approach to accessibility by focusing on integrating accessibility into product planning, research and development, product development, and testing. We actively promote this integrated approach as a best practice within the industry.

Microsoft takes a strategic approach to accessibility by:

• Continuing our longstanding commitment and leadership in accessibility research, awareness, and innovation.
• Making the computer easier to see, hear, and use by building accessibility features into Microsoft products.
• Ensuring that Windows is the best platform for accessibility innovation for assistive technology manufacturers, and
• Building strong, collaborative relationships with key government agencies and organizations that advocate on behalf of people with disabilities.

Progress

At Microsoft, our commitment to developing innovative accessibility solutions started when the corporation was in its infancy. As we have evolved to be a technology leader, we've recognized our responsibility to lead the industry in the area of accessibility, and to realize our original mission to enable everyone to have a PC on their desk. Today, Microsoft leads the industry in accessibility innovation and in building products that are safer and easier to use. Our technologies have opened up new opportunities and added convenience and value in schools, offices, and homes.

Our accessibility efforts are concentrated in four key areas:

1. Accessibility in our products
2. Leadership and awareness
3. Innovation
4. Collaboration

Accessibility in our products

Accessibility is a fundamental consideration during product design, development, and testing. Microsoft builds accessibility options into products that enable everyone to personalize their PCs to make them more comfortable and easier to see, hear, and use.

Many Microsoft products feature accessibility and personalization options. Specifically:

• Windows 7 and Windows Vista both include the Ease of Access Center, a centralized location where you can explore and manage accessibility options. Windows 7 introduces significant improvements to Magnifier, On-Screen Keyboard, Speech Commanding, and adjusting font size. Magnifier now includes a lens mode and full-screen mode. On-Screen Keyboard now supports multi-language environments, can be resized to make it easier to see, and includes text prediction which speeds up typing.
• Internet Explorer provides flexibility to use the browser in the way that best suits your needs and preferences—including improved keyboard navigation and better support for screen reading.
• Office 2007 is easier to navigate and more accessible. It is easier to create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with rich content. The new Ribbon is consistent throughout Office programs which makes it easier to find features in programs and reduces keystrokes for keyboard-only users. The new compact layout also reduces navigation time for Magnifier users. SmartArt™ graphics tools make it possible to create complex graphics and diagrams without a mouse. The Zoom tool makes resizing your work area faster and easier. The recent addition of Save As DAISY add-on makes it easy to publish Word documents in an accessible format.

Windows is also compatible with a wide range of assistive technology products—such as screen readers, magnifiers, and specialty hardware—that meet the needs of computer users with all types of impairments, and provide choices at every price point. We strive to ensure that Windows is an outstanding platform for other companies to develop innovative assistive technology products.

Find out more about accessibility in Microsoft products including accessibility tutorials and video demonstrations.

Leadership and awareness

At Microsoft, our commitment to developing innovative accessibility solutions started more than two decades ago. Our longstanding commitment to accessibility research, awareness-building, innovation, and collaboration reflect our evolution to a global leader in the realm of accessibility.

Research

Microsoft leads the industry through accessibility-related research and development projects including large-scale nationwide studies, targeted usability, and one-on-one interviews. We studied the market for accessible technology and discovered the demand for accessible technology is expanding as our population ages and as more individuals with mild to moderate impairments recognize the benefit of using accessibility.

Raising awareness

Microsoft raises awareness of accessible technology every day by publishing in-depth information about accessible technology, empowering accessibility trainers and experts, and engaging in press activities. Specific projects:

• Microsoft Accessibility Web site and Accessibility Update newsletter provide in-depth information about the accessibility of our products, including product demos, easy-to-use tutorials, and resource guides.
• The Microsoft Accessibility Resource Center network throughout the United States to provide low-cost accessibility consultation to businesses, schools, and individuals looking for accessible technology solutions.
• A Guide for Educators to Accessible Technology helps educators integrate students with disabilities into their classrooms and to understand the accessibility options available to them.
• Microsoft offers accessibility technology solutions to help businesses provide technology for employees and customers who have accessibility needs. Learn how to integrate accessible technology into your business technology plans and how to identify the right assistive technology solutions. We also publish case studies so business leaders can learn best practices for their industries.
• Inclusive Innovation Showroom to demonstrate how people of all abilities are using accessible technology at work and at home.
• Technology for older adults. Microsoft works with governments and organizations around the world to extend the use of technology to older adults enabling them to maintain their work careers and live independent and productive digital lifestyles.

Innovation

Microsoft facilitates the next generation of accessible technology and moves the industry forward with groundbreaking technologies. Microsoft also strives to lead the industry in approaching accessibility in new ways. For instance, Microsoft coined the phrase Inclusive Innovation to highlight the need for a conversation that goes beyond UI design considerations.

The concept of Inclusive Innovation combines the principles of user-centered design, accessibility and usability with forward-looking design trends to reinforce the widespread value of creating products and services that are designed to accommodate a variety of users and environments. However, the concept of Inclusive Innovation challenges the industry to consider the holistic change required to build new technologies that are interoperable, compatible with assistive technologies, and that reduce the overall complexity for users. The design and delivery of inclusive products requires new forms of collaboration, changes in the way we educate designers and developers, and modern technologies that simplify interoperability between AT and IT products.

Specific innovation projects and technologies:

• Microsoft Accessibility Developer Center. Microsoft is promoting innovation and incubation of new accessible technology solutions through the Microsoft Accessibility Developer Center community. This Dev Center is the portal for guidance, essential information, tools, and technologies for developing accessible applications and writing accessible code.
• Improving the ecosystem and interoperability across the industry. Microsoft works with leaders in the industry through involvement in organizations such as the Accessibility Interoperability Alliance (AIA) and the Assistive Technology Industry Association (ATIA). Through these industry groups, Microsoft encourages technology innovation across platforms and devices to create the broadest ecosystem of solutions for people with disabilities and to drive down the cost and complexity of building accessible mainstream products.
• Microsoft UI Automation is the accessibility framework for Microsoft Windows, available on all operating systems that support Windows Presentation Foundation—as well as on the Linux platform through collaboration with Novell.
• Microsoft Word Plug-in Lets You "Save As DAISY" to transform Open XML documents into an accessible format for people with print disabilities.
• Accessibility Kit for SharePoint. Microsoft, in collaboration with HiSoftware, developed the Accessibility Kit for SharePoint (AKS) to put developers on the road to Web accessibility.
• Silverlight 2.0. Using UI Automation, Silverlight provides an advanced level of accessibility in highly interactive, rich Internet applications and video playback.
• Accessible Web page authoring. Anyone can create accessible blog posts with Windows Live writer, and Web Developers can create standards-based, accessible Web sites with Expression Web 2.0.

Collaboration

Microsoft collaborates with a wide range of organizations to raise awareness of the importance of accessibility in meeting the technology needs of people with disabilities.

Microsoft openly communicates about accessibility. We strive to keep our processes for designing, developing, and testing each of our products and services transparent so that customers, partners, governments, and consumers can make informed decisions. We communicate proactively about the accessibility of our products and conduct ongoing discussions to resolve accessibility issues. We also openly publish Section 508 Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) for Microsoft Products.

Specifically, we collaborate with:

• Technology partners. Technical partnerships and cooperation are the keys to ensuring the widest availability of accessible technologies. We work with assistive technology companies around the world to ensure that hundreds of accessible technology products are available for use on the Microsoft platform. We also participate in a broad range of engineering collaborations and standards-development activities that define accessible technology and solve challenges associated with developing them.
• Governments. Microsoft works with governments around the world to create policies and programs that promote broad digital inclusion for people with disabilities and the aging, among others. We consult regularly with, and provide policy and technical expertise to, governments and multi-lateral institutions. Microsoft developed a set of policy principles that we believe lie at the core of successful e-Accessibility policy frameworks and underpin the development, and the widespread implementation, of accessible technologies.
• Non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Microsoft has a long history of working closely with NGOs and consumer advocacy groups through regular consultation and engagement. For example, by supporting programs like the Partnership in Opportunities for Employment through Technology in the Americas (POETA) and Unlimited Potential (UP), we are collaborating with NGOs worldwide to implement information technology (IT) skills training for people with disabilities.
• With support for global standards and harmonization. Microsoft works with academic institutions, industry bodies, global standards bodies, and policymakers to achieve worldwide accessibility standards and practices. These reduce development complexity, foster innovation, and improve quality of customer experience worldwide.