Global Accessibility Testing Market — How Fast is it Growing?

Accessibility testing makes web and mobile applications usable by the broadest possible audience. It makes applications accessible to individuals with vision, hearing, and other physical or cognitive conditions. Globally, corporations are concentrating on enhancing customer engagement and retention to maintain market competition. Customers for accessibility testing include individuals with disabilities, who must be considered when conducting business. Accessibility testing services are used to ensure that all prospective customers are accessible. The market is currently exhibiting several trends and growth factors that could prove advantageous for new project investments.

Source:

According to Straits Research, Global Accessibility Testing Market CAGR grow at 4.1% during the forecasted period 2020-2027.

Purpose of Accessibility Testing 

Soruce:

Accessibility testing’s primary objective is to accommodate people with disabilities, such as:

• Hearing Deficiency: In this condition, the individual cannot hear or not hear clearly and has sensory issues such as hearing impairments and deafness.
• Learning Disabilities: Individuals with reading difficulties.
• Physical Disabilities: People with this type of disability cannot use a keyboard or mouse with one hand and struggle with hand activities, muscle detention, and diminished motor skills.
• Visual Impairments: Visual or vision impairments are characterized by total blindness, impaired vision, color blindness, flashing effect problems, and visible strobe.
• Cognitive Deficit: This condition is characterized by poor memory, inability to recognize more complex situations, and learning difficulties.

Benefits of Accessibility Testing

Source:

Expands the User Base

Sites that are difficult to access receive less traffic. The usability of websites and products can be increased by timely accessibility testing by making them more accessible. With a clearly defined accessibility testing approach, it is possible to transmit content on a website or application in various formats, such as photos with Alt Text, written transcripts, video captions, and resizable text.

At the beginning of software development, accessibility testing must be a fundamental component of all software testing processes. Delaying accessibility testing can also lead to software issues and higher expenses.

Legal Compliance

In 2020, more than 2,500 lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act will be submitted to federal courts in the United States, predicts Seyfarth. Going back to 2019, there was a 13% increase in litigation. In actuality, more companies must abide by laws and provide high levels of accessibility to all customers. For instance, starting in 2001, the Workforce Rehabilitation Act (also known as Section 508) required all federal agencies in the United States to adhere to accessibility guidelines while acquiring, utilizing, and creating various communication equipment.

Superior Code Quality

Using accessibility testing, product makers can avoid legal issues and fines . 

Effectively, accessibility testing can broaden the scope of usability testing and result in a codebase for the finished product/website of the highest caliber. This is primarily because accessibility testing tools reveal a large number of coding flaws that, if ignored, could result in usability problems or software faults.

E-commerce websites’ accessibility issues decreased through testing. The overall  user interface (and user experience) has been updated and improvised for quicker loading across all devices.

Enhanced SEO

Rich text content on accessibility-friendly websites makes them easy for search engines to find while looking for pertinent content. The possibility that search engines will send more traffic to the website and boost conversions and revenues rises with a higher SEO ranking.

Furthermore, accessibility testing makes it easier to create software and websites with more accessible user interfaces and navigation, which lowers bounce rates and encourages more users to use them frequently.

Governmental Policies to Facilitate the Adoption of Accessibility Services

Web accessibility testing services are in high demand to provide complete functionality to the disabled population. Various laws and regulations, such as section 508, web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Computer Access and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA), have increased the adoption of accessibility services in IT technologies. So that people with disability can access them. In addition, the W3C defines various web standards that aid IT companies in developing websites and applications according to specifications, allowing users with varying abilities to access websites and applications.

Different governments and organizations are adopting various web accessibility standards to ensure equal access. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, for example, mandates that all federal agencies make their electronic and information technologies accessible to individuals with disabilities. In addition, the European Union’s Web and Mobile Accessibility Directive, Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992, and India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPD), are acts and policies enacted by the governments of several economies to provide equal opportunities to all users worldwide.

AI and Automation Tools to Create Profitable Market Opportunities for Accessibility Testing

Currently, accessibility has become a crucial aspect of the digital age. Automation and AI-powered solutions for accessibility testing are anticipated to create opportunities for the accessibility testing services market. The accessibility testing market is expected to expand with the increasing demand for AI-driven applications and the prevalence of ‘Continuous Delivery’ and ‘DevOps’ models are likely to provide an opportunity to accelerate the release cycle with various tools and processes supporting continuous integration. For instance, IBM released a new solution for automating web application accessibility testing in March 2017. AbilityLab Dynamic Assessment Plugin is a browser extension that identifies, evaluates, and suggests potential fixes for accessibility issues. It is intended to integrate automated accessibility testing into Chrome Browser development tools to optimize the user experience by industry standards.

The Prominence of Web Accessibility Testing in the Present Era

Web accessibility testing is a testing methodology that ensures the web app (or website) complies with the W3C-specified POUR principles. The application should be accessible to individuals with deafness, blindness, motor impairments, etc. Web Accessibility Testing is not limited to web apps (or mobile apps) but encompasses all products under the ‘digital accessibility’ umbrella.

Web accessibility, a feature of web applications, is utilized to ensure that individuals, with and without disabilities, have a comparable experience with a given technology. The W3C launched the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) to investigate website accessibility and develop standards and supplementary resources to understand and implement accessibility. Several nations have already adopted numerous policies and guidelines, including Section 508 and web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG). Section 508 of the United States Code ensures that websites are accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. The guidelines stipulate that all electronic and IT products and services must be accessible to people with varying abilities.

Small and Medium-Sized Businesses to Bolster Demand for Accessibility Testing Services

The majority of software companies in the world are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Still, their software development processes are frequently less clearly defined and structured than those of their larger counterparts. Testing is frequently the most neglected aspect of the software development process. In developing countries, the government and other organizations run programs and implement regulations to aid small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in improving the accessibility and usability of content for websites and mobile applications. Countries have varying laws and regulations regarding web accessibility depending on the size of their differently-abled populations. In developing nations such as India, China, and Japan, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is increasing. According to the Institute of Information Technology Professionals South Africa (IITPSA), the most significant contributors to the software industry are small businesses with fewer than 50 employees. Governments and organizations in developing nations administer numerous programs and regulations to aid small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in enhancing the accessibility and usability of their website and mobile application content. For example, Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1992 and India’s Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (RPD) are other acts and policies enacted by governments to ensure equal opportunities for all users worldwide.

Asia-Pacific – A Major Contributor Region for the Substantial Demand for Accessibility Testing Market

The increasing number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Asia-Pacific is a key driver of the region’s substantial demand for accessibility testing. Web accessibility testing enables SMEs to increase their user base, as improved website and mobile app accessibility results in a rise in the number of users visiting a company’s website. Specifically for such highly accessible websites, all users, regardless of disability, can perform operations without difficulty. In addition, testing services aid SMEs in developing a positive brand response.

The number of websites that adhere to the established standards is relatively low; consequently, there are challenges associated with promoting the concept of web accessibility. Government and local regulatory bodies have devised a plan to implement a program aimed at persuading businesses and organizations to support the principle that the web should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their abilities. This agenda includes the National Web Accessibility Standard (JIS X8341-3) and the Basic Act on Forming an Advanced Information and Telecommunications Network Society.

China has witnessed a significant increase in the number of hearing-impaired individuals; consequently, the situation in the region has evolved to the point where people are adopting hearing aids to facilitate access to devices such as smartphones and other digital platforms. China’s deaf population increased from 74 million in 2008 to 96 million in 2019, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Accessibility testing services provide multimedia content with transcripts and captions, graphics, animation, on-text, screen readers, and others to facilitate comprehension of the presented information. Local regulatory bodies have enacted laws governing web accessibility, such as the Voluntary Web Accessibility Standard with WCAG 2.0 derivatives and the Law on the Protection of Persons with Disabilities of 1990.

According to India CSR (Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility), approximately 75% of the Indian computer users are at high risk for repetitive strain injury. 

Prominent Market Participants in the Global Accessibility Testing Market

Qualitest (https://qualitestgroup.com), the world’s largest AI-powered quality engineering company, has partnered with Sauce Labs Inc. (https://saucelabs.com), the leading provider of continuous testing and error reporting solutions, to offer cloud-based testing for enterprise applications on multiple platforms, including mobile devices, browsers, and desktops.

Qualitest announced the acquisition of India-based software testing company ZenQ Pvt Ltd. This acquisition strengthens Qualitest’s geographical presence in India by adding ZenQ’s facilities in Hyderabad and bolsters their NextGen competencies in Phygital, Analytics, Blockchain, and DevOps. Through this acquisition, Qualitest will access more than 600 quality engineers from ZenQ and a dynamic and effective leadership team that will foster the company’s growth and enhance its expertise.

Planit, a global leader in quality engineering and application testing services, has announced the acquisition of Qual IT, an IT quality assurance company based in New Zealand. Planit and Qual IT will merge to form the most prominent independent IT testing company in New Zealand and Australia and the third largest in the world. SEQA, the cyber security partner of Qual IT, has also been acquired as part of the deal, with expansion plans for this sector. The acquisition of Planit in New Zealand is a part of Planit’s growth strategy for 2030, which entails accelerating its global expansion to achieve the number one position in IT quality assurance and quality engineering. The United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States are expanding markets.

Make sure to check out Testsigma, the leading provider of codeless AI-driven test automation solutions for enterprise data platforms, enabling customers to achieve 100% data reconciliation of all data flows and migrations.

Accessibility Testing Service Market Competitors

As many businesses continue to target niche consumer groups, the global market for Accessibility Testing Services is becoming increasingly competitive. The Accessibility Testing Service Market’s leading players are:

• BarrierBreak
• accessScan
• Saffron Technology
• Accessibility InteractionInvensis
• Planit
• Happiest Minds
• Sopra Steria
• Deque Systems
• Ten10
• QA Information Technology
• Paciello Group
• 360Logica
• TestingXperts
• Qualitest
• QA Consultants
• AccessibilityOz
• Standard 508
• Siteimprove