A More Accessible Web

Companies Assist Agencies in Making Sites Disability-Friendly
By Carrie Johnson

Washington Post Staff Writer


Tuesday, August 21, 2001;



An economic slowdown doesn't seem like the best time to launch a
new product. But Arlington-based Crunchy Technologies Inc. is doing
brisk business on its new $699 software package, shipping almost
4,000 units since introducing it four months ago.

The impetus for the sales is a new federal requirement that
government agencies make their Web sites accessible to the
disabled. The rule, which took effect June 25, also charges federal
officials with revamping keyboards, photocopiers, teletype devices
and other office machines for agency employees with special needs.

A government panel estimates it could cost as much as $691 million
to retrofit federal workplaces and Web sites under Section 508 of
the Rehabilitation Act. Some experts think the new federal rule
will eventually trickle down to state and private workplaces as
well.

With about 120,000 disabled workers on the federal payroll, and
about 54 million disabled Americans overall, entrepreneurs such as
Crunchy chief executive Louis J. Hutchinson III have shifted their
focus to technology for the disabled.

Hutchinson's software diagnoses when Web sites are hard to use for
people with visual impairments, motor-skills problems or other
special needs. "I don't think this is rocket science," said
Hutchinson, a former sales executive at Netscape Communications
Corp.

"The e-consulting economy has had a rough time over the past year,"
he said, so he is transforming Crunchy from a service to a product
company.

To help agencies meet the new requirement, at least 25 companies
have moved in to sell software, training and other services to
federal contractors and government agencies, according to an
analysis by research firm Giga Information Group Inc. Clients
include the Transportation Department, the Federal Communications
Commission and the U.S. Navy.

WestLake Internet Training in Arlington, for example, recently
added a $345 one-day course for high-tech designers interested in
learning how to make Web pages easier for the blind to read. Buan
Consulting Inc. is hosting a $125 seminar on compliance with the
rule for government procurement officers and business owners at the
Ronald Reagan Building next month.

The nation's biggest technology firms also are responding to the
federal directive by updating their product lines and rushing to
pitch government buyers on their disability-friendly features.

. Microsoft Corp. touts software that offers graphics-free screens,
which are more easily read by the machines many blind people employ
to browse the Web.

. Hewlett-Packard Co.opened a new office for accessibility issues
andhas already changed the notices on its printers so that people
with visual and other physical problems don't have to make
unnecessary trips to the printer when there are glitches with their
documents.

. Government contractors such as Electronic Data Systems Corp. and
GTSI Corp. are partnering with small software companies that
already offer accessibility products.

The disability rights provision has sensitized dozens of companies
to a new market.

"Many companies have suddenly realized 'Oh, no, in order for us to
sell to customers or keep contracts with the government, we've got
to address this right away,' " said Laura Ruby, a manager in
Microsoft's 40-person Accessible Technology Group.

"Section 508 has done a wonderful job of crystallizing industry
awareness about disability," said Denice Gant, director of the
Accessibility Solutions program at Hewlett-Packard.

Some advocates worry that their field could fall prey to economic
rather than altruistic, interests.

"People are getting into this because all of a sudden you can make
money on it, without understanding the real issues," said Shawn
Lawton Henry, an executive at Optavia Corp., a Madison, Wis.,
consulting firm that she said spent three years working to improve
technology for the disabled without making a profit. More than half
of Optavia's revenue comes from training and consulting work
related to Section 508.

John Williams, who writes a column about assistive technology for
BusinessWeek Online, predicted the interest from the business world
will make life easier for all disabled Americans. But he added:
"Let's be clear about this. [Companies] did it for economic
reasons, not out of any motivation that this is the right thing to
do."

Even with the rush of activity to meet the standard, analysts said
it could take a year to 18 months before agencies and their
contractors fully comply with the new rule.

Some experts think the flurry of sales will be relatively
short-lived. "I think people are overstating the potential here,"
said Ken Salaets, a lobbyist with the Information Technology
Industry Council. "Within three years' time, you'll have gone
through a number of different product cycles and the like, so that
information technology and accessible technology will talk without
any problem. This will be just another feature that's offered, plug
and play."

Marco Sorani, president of SSB Technologies Inc., a San Francisco
company that competes with Crunchy and takes in three-quarters of
its revenue from Section 508-related work, disagrees. He predicts
the interest in how people with impairments use technology will
eventually trickle down into state workplaces and other sectors.
Several states have passed laws with requirements similar to those
of the federal rule.

And the Justice Department ruled in a legal opinion that the
Americans With Disabilities Act applies to the Internet, a move
that could force private employers to comply as well.

"Corporate America is quickly following suit," said Dana
Simberkoff, vice president of business development for Hiawatha
Island Software Co., a Concord, N.H., firm that recently moved into
the disability software market. Its products include electronic
tools to test the user-friendliness of Web sites.

"People are fairly confident that within the next couple of years
this will be an issue for the private sector," she said.


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