How to make accessible developments with Microsoft tools | Global Azure 2021

At Global Azure 2021 we saw that more than one billion people worldwide live with some form of disability; Of these, almost 200 million experience considerable difficulties in their operation. We tell you how this event was!

In future years, disability will be an even greater concern, as its prevalence is increasing. This is because the population is aging and the risk of suffering some type of disability is higher among older adults. Also by the worldwide increase of chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, cancer and mental health disorders.

In this context, talking about accessibility has become more than obligatory, especially when we talk about the digital environment. On April 17, within the Global Azure 2021 event, we had the opportunity to give a talk in which we addressed the way in which Microsoft puts in our hands tools that allow us to carry out more accessible developments.

Access the video of the talk

What is accessibility?

Accessibility goes hand in hand with usability, and is the way that software is built for and by people, that is, the end customer who will use your services. In short, do things right, from the beginning.

Worldwide, people with disabilities have poorer health outcomes, poorer academic outcomes, lower economic participation and higher poverty rates than people without disabilities. In part, this is a consequence of obstacles to their access to services that many of us consider obvious, in particular health, education, employment, transport, or information. These difficulties are exacerbated in disadvantaged communities.

More and more people with some type of disability are using technology to approach the infinity of services on the internet like any other user, simply with software that reads or magnifies the screen, with a special control, or with voice control, among others.

But the Web or App must comply with the correct standard for these technical aids or support products to be fully compatible (Royal Decree 1112/2018, of September 7 / Directive (EU) 2016/2102 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of October 26, 2016).

In this way, the user experience will not be diminished, and they will be able to access the service in a comfortable, agile and intuitive way like any other person.

Global Azure 2021

In this talk for Global Azure 2021, my colleague David Mirón, Teach Lead of Web & Cloud of Pasiona, and I, have shown two practical examples in which the potentials of Microsoft technologies are demonstrated, for the following cases:

• Seeing AI: A real-time recognition app for the visually impaired. Among its functions are: recognition of short texts, documents, products, people, money, recognition of the environment and scenes and finally detection of colors and light intensity.
• Cognitive services: Microsoft services to provide help to people with dyslexia and dyscalculia among others, used in educational settings. This technology is integrated throughout the Microsoft office suite and other services, helping people with disabilities understand and organize texts.

Therefore, making an accessibility improvement or including it in the foundation of your software will have the following additional advantages:

• Better structured code, which translates into faster loads and better positioning.
• You will reach more people, and they will keep your solution for having taken them into account. Also, remember: the best salesperson is the customer.

The vision that drives us is that of an inclusive world in which we can all live a life of health, comfort and dignity.

Digital accessibility is not an extra or an optional luxury. It is a right and a legal imperative to be addressed. At Pasiona we guarantee that the products we develop are universally accessible, with the end user always at the center. We have more than 10 years of experience in software development and we have a whole team of specialists in charge of accompanying you in the adaptation of your digital products to accessibility criteria through our brand mimetizo, with a first free consultancy.

Free First Consultation