Level Access

Arlington,  VA 
United States
https://www.levelaccess.com/

• Booth: 6050

 Press Releases

• eSSENTIAL Accessibility (eA) Named a “Next Big Thing in Tech” by Fast Company (Dec 14, 2022)

  Annual list of technology breakthroughs recognizes eA’s role in transforming the future

  TORONTO, November 18, 2022 — eSSENTIAL Accessibility (eA), the leading digital Accessibility-as-a-Service platform, is proud to announce it has won the Enterprise category of Fast Company’s 2022 Next Big Things in Tech. This annual recognition honors technology breakthroughs that positively shape the future for the industries they serve.

  eA’s digital accessibility solution equips and empowers organizations in any industry to make their digital experiences accessible to people with disabilities. Worldwide, more than one billion people have a disability, which may impact their ability to use or even access online content and mobile apps.

  “It’s estimated that more than 250,000 websites are created every day, yet the overwhelming majority of them have accessibility barriers. This means that as we deepen our dependence on digital connection, more of the digital world contains accessibility barriers for people with disabilities. We believe we have a fundamental responsibility to close this gap,” said Mark Steele, Co-Founder and CEO of eSSENTIAL Accessibility.”

  eA has developed the market’s only fully integrated digital accessibility platform, combining all of the tools, training, and expertise organizations need to make their websites, apps, software, and other digital experiences accessible for people with disabilities and compliant with anti-discrimination laws. The eA Platform centralizes and streamlines what has previously been a disjointed, overly complex, and siloed process within many organizations. This centralization and simplification is a breakthrough in the digital accessibility industry.

  “We’re incredibly honored Fast Company recognizes the tremendous impact our solution has made, and will continue to make,” Steele added. “And we’re more driven than ever to accelerate our pace of innovation, making digital accessibility a default expectation of design and development for all future web creation.”

  Fueled by this innovation and momentum, in August 2022, eA announced a merger with Level Access, one of the most well-known, trusted brands in digital accessibility.

  “By bringing our two teams and expertise together, we’re creating the scalable digital accessibility solution that can comprehensively meet the needs of organizations at any stage in their journey toward accessibility,” said Tim Springer, CEO of the newly merged Level Access. “We’re confident that, with our support and leadership, meaningful online access and usability for all is not only achievable, it’s an inevitable new normal.”

  “Technology breakthroughs and cutting-edge advancements promise to be the solution to some of the world’s most pressing issues. Fast Company is excited to highlight some of the organizations, of all sizes and industry backgrounds, whose technology advancements today will lead to a better tomorrow,” said Brendan Vaughan, editor-in-chief of Fast Company.

  To view all the companies named on this year’s list, click here.

  For more information on how eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access are building a more accessible future, visit www.essentialaccessibility.com.

  About Fast Company

  Fast Company is the only media brand fully dedicated to the vital intersection of business, innovation, and design, engaging the most influential leaders, companies, and thinkers on the future of business. The editor-in-chief is Brendan Vaughan. Headquartered in New York City, Fast Company is published by Mansueto Ventures LLC, along with our sister publication, Inc., and can be found online at fastcompany.com.

  About eSSENTIAL Accessibility + Level Access

  eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access empower organizations with the advanced software and expert-managed services they need to create accessible and legally compliant websites, mobile apps, digital products, and documents. The mission is to achieve digital equality for all users by ensuring technology is accessible to people with disabilities and the growing aging population. eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access announced the completion of their merger in August 2022. For more, visit www.levelaccess.com or www.essentialaccessibility.com.

• eSSENTIAL Accessibility Partners with Contentful to Help Brands Create Inclusive Digital Experiences (Dec 14, 2022)

  New partnership empowers brands to build more usable, digitally accessible experiences across all channels and devices

  TORONTO, November 7, 2022 — eSSENTIAL Accessibility (eA), the leading Accessibility-as-a-Service platform, today announced a strategic partnership with Contentful, the leading content platform for digital-first business. Through this partnership, Contentful users will now be able to leverage the power of eA’s comprehensive solution to help achieve and maintain compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other global accessibility regulations, and better serve all users.

  More than one billion people worldwide live with a disability. If a digital experience isn’t designed and developed following accessibility standards, many people with disabilities will not be able to navigate or use that content. Creating accessible digital experiences is also a legal requirement. The number of ADA lawsuits and legal demand letters alleging non-compliance is on the rise. This partnership will improve businesses’ ability to deliver inclusive, accessible, and legally compliant experiences across all devices and channels. 

  “As businesses push boundaries into new digital frontiers, they must embrace inclusivity. Through our partnership, we are empowering Contentful’s customers to achieve accessibility compliance while continuing to build innovative and engaging experiences for all,” said Mark Steele, Co-founder and CEO at eSSENTIAL Accessibility. “Contentful is a leading content platform that can help organizations deliver inclusive experiences on every channel. This partnership is already delivering great value to our mutual customers by incorporating digital accessibility efficiently into their custom tech stacks.”

  As business is conducted through digital channels with increasing frequency, content plays a crucial role in the success of organizations and brands around the world. Contentful unifies content in a single hub and structures it for use in any digital channel so digital teams can assemble content and deliver digital experiences faster and at scale. 

  “This partnership with eA means our customers and partners will have access to a comprehensive accessibility platform that we trust and can recommend,” said Jeff Blattel, Director of Technical Partnerships, Americas at Contentful. “Contentful is designed to be flexible and adapt to the needs of our customers and the demands of their customers, which include accessible digital experiences. Leveraging the eA platform will make it easier for our customers to achieve and maintain ADA compliance.”

• eSSENTIAL Accessibility Launches New Browser Extension Making it Possible to Test User Flows for Accessibility Barriers (Dec 14, 2022)

  n, start to finish. 

  Coupled with the powerful capabilities of the eA Platform, teams can then sync and analyze data, prioritize based on bug severity, organize work into projects for actioning, and push specific tasks into issue tracking systems like Jira and Azure DevOps—weaving accessibility work into existing workflows. 

  “Our browser extension is another example of how we’ve built an unparalleled ecosystem that gives teams greater visibility to accessibility issues and guidance to manage them across the entire software development lifecycle—from initial scan to remediation,” said Mark Steele, Co-Founder and CEO of eSSENTIAL Accessibility. 

  The eA Accessibility Checker scans in any production or pre-production environment (including content that’s dynamically generated), pop-ups, and environments that are secured or hard-to-reach. With this end-to-end testing and remediation capability, teams can now easily and more efficiently find and fix bugs in live environments, but more importantly, they can catch them before they go live and introduce a barrier for a user with a disability. 

  To learn more about eSSENTIAL Accessibility’s all-in-one digital accessibility solution, visit https://www.essentialaccessibility.com.

• eSSENTIAL Accessibility + Level Access, in Collaboration with G3ict and IAAP, Release Annual State of Digital Accessibility Report (Dec 14, 2022)

  Annual research report reveals positive trends toward mainstream adoption of digital accessibility.

  Vienna, VA – October 27, 2022 – eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access, the global leader in digital accessibility solutions, in collaboration with the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICTs (G3ict) and the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), announced today the publication of the 2022 State of Digital Accessibility Report (SODAR). The report, representing the fourth year of the survey, asked more than 1,000 professionals in various roles related to digital accessibility, including legal, compliance, product, design, and content creation, to assess their commitment to creating and implementing inclusive technology, which includes websites, mobile apps, and software. 

  “For the past three years, the State of Digital Accessibility Report has provided invaluable insight into how organizations are incorporating and investing in digital accessibility,” said Tim Springer, CEO, eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access. “And I am thrilled because this year’s results show accessibility is becoming a mainstream priority. Governance is maturing. Funding is formalizing. And more organizations are incorporating accessibility earlier in their development and creation processes.”

  The 2022 SODAR also highlights an encouraging shift in motivation: both individuals and organizations selected “including people with disabilities” and “providing the best user experience for all” as their main drivers. 

  “This tells us we’re moving away from a strictly compliance-focused ‘we have to do this’ conversation, to an inspired commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of digital users. Such a shift signals maturity in the way organizations are thinking about, adopting, and incorporating digital accessibility,” Springer added.

  Key findings from the 2022 State of Digital Accessibility Report include:

  • Diversity and inclusion: 89% of organizations surveyed have a Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) program, which is up from 83.6% in 2021. 
    • Of those D&I programs, 69.4% now include digital accessibility. 
  • Governance and budgeting: 
    • 44.1% of accessibility programs roll up to one department or leader, up considerably from 30.8% in 2021. 
    • 27.2% of budgets are centralized, up from 21.4% in 2021. 
  • Testing and monitoring: 
    • 67.3% of respondents test for accessibility earlier, during the CI/CD process, which is up from 56% in 2021.
    • 40% validate accessibility requirements in unit testing, a jump from 22.8% in 2021.
    • 77.3% use monitoring tools, which is up significantly from 33% in 2021.
  • Product accessibility: 
    • 73.7% of product buyers prioritize accessibility when purchasing a product, which is up from 55.2% in 2020 and 71.4% in 2021.
    • 58.7% of buyers require proof of product accessibility in the form of a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template—or VPAT®, which is up from 52.9% in 2021.

  Springer adds, “This data can serve as an important tool for organizations to better understand trends in digital inclusion, benchmark their own efforts to create inclusive technology for people with disabilities, and justify investments in digital accessibility. Our continued hope is that it provides the education and motivation for organizations of all sizes to make digital inclusion a top business priority.”

  Request the full 2022 State of Digital Accessibility Report. 

  About eSSENTIAL Accessibility + Level Access

  eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access empower organizations with the advanced software and expert managed services they need to create accessible and legally compliant websites, mobile apps, digital products, and documents. The mission is to achieve digital equality for all users by ensuring technology is accessible to people with disabilities and the growing aging population. eSSENTIAL Accessibility and Level Access announced the completion of their merger in August 2022. For more, visit www.levelaccess.com or www.essentialaccessibility.com. 

  About G3ict

  G3ict, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies, is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006 in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UNDESA. Its mission is to facilitate and support the implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) promoting digital accessibility and Assistive Technologies. Participating organizations include industry, academia, the public sector, and organizations representing persons with disabilities. For more information, please visit https://www.g3ict.org. 

  About IAAP

  The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) is a not-for-profit association focused on advancing the accessibility profession globally through networking, education, and certification in order to enable the creation of accessible products, content, and services for persons with disabilities. For more information, please visit https://www.accessibilityassociation.org.