Summary
This report demonstrates that there is an increasing need for accessible technology to allow individuals to customize their computers to help overcome physical and cognitive difficulties and impairments. In the United States, 60% (101.4 million) of working-age adults who range from 18 to 64 years old are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to difficulties and impairments that may impact computer use. Among current US computer users who range from 18 to 64 years old, 57% (74.2 million) are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology due to difficulties and impairments that may impact computer use.
As the US population ages, more US workers and computer users will notice changes in their abilities and experience difficulties and impairments. At the same time, older US workers will remain in the workforce long past previously expected retirement ages. Maintaining productivity among US workers—regardless of abilities, difficulties, and impairments—will become an increasingly vital economic issue for US businesses as the population continues to age. Add to these trends the growing use of computers for work, information, and communication, and it becomes clear that future computer users will demand and expect greater accessibility in computers—regardless of their abilities. There is a strategic business opportunity for IT companies to improve technology optimism, and perhaps customer satisfaction with their own products, by developing more accessible technology for computers.
The Wide Range of Abilities
Addressing the growing need for accessible technology requires accepting the fact that the concept of "disability" may have limited the understanding of the need for accessible technology. Instead of assuming that accessible technology is only useful to a distinct group of people with disabilities, the IT industry must consider the wide range of people who could benefit from using accessible technology.
For computer technology to be most effective and accessible, however, it is essential to understand the type and the degree of severity of difficulties and impairments people are experiencing, how frequently they occur among current and potential computer users, and the specific ways accessible technology may help people overcome those difficulties and impairments. Forrester Research recommends that further research be done to explore these issues.
Continued Innovation Needed
The findings in this study indicate that that technology currently aimed at people with severe difficulties and impairments can also improve the computing experience for the vast majority of computer users. A large and growing potential market for accessible technology exists to serve individuals who have some degree of difficulty or impairment that impacts their ability to use a computer. Further innovation should be done to make technology even more accessible.
Accessible technology has the potential to powerfully extend, expand, and enhance user experience and productivity. Addressing the needs of those who are likely or very likely to benefit from the use of accessible technology requires an industry-wide effort.
(A Research Report Commissioned by Microsoft Corporation and Conducted by Forrester Research, Inc., in 2003)
