By Rosemary Musachio, Chief Strategic Officer, Ruh Global Communications
Working on clouds, or remote computer systems have become as common as checking e-mail or surfing the Internet. While working on a cloud, you can print from a printer 6,000 miles, access files from your boss’ desktop (with permission, of course), or access databases from your company’s mainframe. That’s why computer clouds must be accessible to persons with disabilities.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently published a draft report, Cloud and Accessibility Considerations. The report examines barriers to cloud accessibility and solutions to remediate them. For example, a cloud network may not be accessible to such assistive technology (AT) as screen readers and screen magnifiers. The same operating system must be running on both the local and remote computers for the AT to work. Sometimes the AT isn’t even installed properly on the remote computer. When a company wants to embark on a cloud computer, it must be certain that the remote system is equipped properly for diverse accessibility needs.
Another obstacle that cloud computing can pose is that the software may have dynamic updates. These updates may make the software incompatible with AT, whereas it was compatible prior to the dynamic changes. Sudden software upgrades may make remote applications look differently, which may confuse screen reader users or users with cognitive disabilities. Menu controls may be rearranged, or new controls may be added unknown to the user. Remote systems should inform them of any changes before they occur. Administers also should offer users the option of accepting or rejecting it.
Users with disabilities also may find components of cloud applications inaccessible with typical issues that are familiar to most of us. They include image interfaces that do not have text equivalents, controls that only can be activated with the mouse, form controls that are unlabeled, and videos that lack captions. Companies must select cloud networks that are compliant with Section 508 or WCAG 2.0.
Cloud computing can have accessibility features built into them. The NIST cites two systems that implement cloud accessibility. The first is Global Public Inclusive Infrastructure (GPII). GPII is the foundation for making programs and applications accessible on a cloud network. Users will create profiles with their accessibility needs, which will be stored in the cloud. Then, whenever they access different devices like their work computers, mobile phones, even ATMs; the accessibility features would be implemented automatically. For example, if a blind person uses a work-own iPad, he’d log in and all the graphic interfaces would have text equivalents so his screen reader could read them to him. The process is termed as the web-based server agent model.
The GPII can be implemented using three models. The first model is accessibility plugins that are already built into computer programs, such as the FireVox screen reader for the Firefox browser. Although these plugins require user permission before they can be installed, they run faster than server-based solutions. The next model is on-demand web services, which are standalone programs as equivalents for content, like DocAccess that provide text alternatives for images. These plugins can be accessed through the Web. Proxy-based transcending is the last GPII model where the user customizes accessibility settings through a proxy.
Besides GII, computer clouds can be made accessible through Accessibility Application Program Interfaces (APPI). APPIs allow operating systems to have built-in accessibility features. Specifically, an accessible API can be included in a component. Examples include Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA), Microsoft User Interface Automation (UI-Automation), and MAC OS Accessibility Protocol (AXAPI). These AAPIs can render any element on a cloud network accessible. Form fields in a company mainframe can be identified by screen readers, an alert on a banking network can be audible or vibrating on a mobile device, the focus has a thick black outline on selected items on a kiosk.
As more AAPIs are developed, they will satisfy more accessibility needs tailored for a greater number of devices. When cloud applications that already have AAPIs become updated, accessibility will be easier to maintain. Additionally, AAPIs benefit users with and without disabilities (e.g. voice recognition capabilities on mobile devices for drivers and for people with dexterity impairments).
Being on a cloud means being in two places at once; being on a mobile device in Cleveland while accessing work files in Virginia; being on a laptop in Paris while searching for an important file in San Francisco or using an iPad in Israel while attending a webinar in Atlanta. Through GII and APPIs, persons with disabilities can also benefit from this simultaneity.
#AXSChat: Join Debra Ruh, Neil Milliken, Antonio Santos for a weekly Twitter Chat on Disability Inclusion, ICT Accessibility, Built Environment, CRPD, Empowerment, and Employment. Just search the hashtag #AXSChat at 3pmEST and join the conversation. You can learn more about AXSChat at www.AXSChat.com.
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