Spotlight

Report:

The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023

How does Forrester define the Digital Accessibility Platforms market in 2023?

Digital accessibility platforms (DAPs) help companies implement their accessibility policies with an end goal of creating quality experiences for all customers, including those with disabilities. The market is evolving from reactive 'fix it later' approaches to proactive embedding of accessibility into digital product design and development. DAP vendors are expanding tooling and platform functionality to enable personas across the software development lifecycle, allowing brands to proactively detect and fix accessibility issues while monitoring experiences for accessibility barriers. This shift is driven by increased regulatory pressure, corporate DEI commitments, and recognition of business benefits from creating inclusive experiences.

Key Facts for The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023 in 2023

How did the Digital Accessibility Platforms market evolve in 2023?

What product features are required to be included in this year's evaluation?

What are the common features of top products in the Digital Accessibility Platforms space?

No common features specified.

Scope Exclusions

Inclusion Criteria

Vendors must, among other requirements:

Offering Strengths — Relative Weighting

Strategy Strength — Relative Weighting

FAQs

Q: What does this research cover?

A: This research provides a comprehensive evaluation of eight digital accessibility platform providers using 28 criteria. It covers vendor capabilities across tools for experience makers, testing, remediation, monitoring and reporting, and platform features. The evaluation also assesses vendor strategy including vision, roadmap, partner ecosystem, innovation, pricing, community, and supporting services. The report includes detailed vendor profiles highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and guidance on which vendors are best suited for different organizational needs and maturity levels.

Q: Who should use this research?

A: This research should be used by accessibility and digital experience leaders who are selecting a digital accessibility platform vendor. It's particularly valuable for enterprise buyers who need to understand how different vendors compare across key capabilities and strategic dimensions. Organizations can use the accompanying Excel tool to customize criteria weightings based on their specific needs, current accessibility maturity level, and strategic priorities. The report helps buyers identify which vendors align with their approach to accessibility—whether they need a vendor to handle heavy lifting or want tools to embed accessibility across their development lifecycle.

Q: What are the mandatory features of vendors included in this market?

A: All vendors included in this evaluation must offer: 1) a comprehensive enterprise-class digital accessibility platform with current and planned functionality to shift accessibility left, including tools for designers, developers, and content authors; 2) integrations with at least one common agile development software category (CI/CD, CMS, or issue tracking); 3) policy configuration and customizable dashboards; 4) measuring and reporting on compliance as a key customer use case; 5) minimum annual revenue of $10 million; and 6) significant mindshare among Forrester clients or notable technical capabilities and market presence.

Q: What are some reasons for not being included in this report?

A:

  • Annual revenue below $10 million
  • Lack of comprehensive enterprise-class platform offering
  • Missing tools for experience makers (designers, developers, content authors)
  • No integrations with common agile development software (CI/CD, CMS, issue tracking)
  • Absence of policy configuration and customizable dashboards
  • Compliance measurement and reporting not a key customer use case
  • Insufficient mindshare among Forrester clients and lack of warranted technical capabilities or market presence
  • Vendors that declined to participate in the evaluation
  • Vendors that only partially participated in the evaluation process

Q: What should buyers consider when evaluating products in this market?

A:

  • Match the vendor to your organization's current level of accessibility maturity - look for providers that can grow with you from outsourcing to proactive embedding
  • Prioritize platform user experience as a differentiating factor that will impact adoption across the enterprise
  • Seek platforms with strong embedded education that explain issues in plain language, who is impacted, and how to address them
  • For mature buyers, look for strong tooling and integrations with systems used by designers, developers, content authors, and testers
  • Evaluate robust analytics for monitoring and reporting on accessibility progress at organizational level
  • Consider vendors offering features, services, and/or partnerships to engage people with disabilities in the product design and development process
  • If you lack an in-house accessibility team, look for platforms easy for nonexperts to use
  • Assess whether the vendor's approach to AI and generative AI aligns with your organization's comfort level
  • Consider the vendor's ability to provide supporting services like manual testing, consulting, and legal support
  • Evaluate the strength of the vendor's partner ecosystem and community engagement

Q: How has the Digital Accessibility Platforms market evolved in 2023?

A:

  • Shift from reactive 'launch and fix later' approaches to proactive embedding of accessibility into digital product design and development
  • Increased regulatory and legal pressure driving accessibility priorities
  • Corporate commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)
  • Elevated awareness of business benefits of creating inclusive experiences
  • DAP vendors doubling down on tooling and platform functionality to enable personas across the software development lifecycle
  • Growing use of AI and large language models (LLMs) to generate more specific remediation suggestions
  • Platform user experience becoming a critical differentiator for adoption
  • Increased focus on engaging people with disabilities in the design and development process
  • Evolution toward platforms that support organizations at varying stages of accessibility maturity

Q: What differentiates Strength of Offering vs. Strength of Strategy?

A: Current Offering evaluates the strength of a vendor's existing product capabilities across tools for experience makers, testing, remediation, monitoring/reporting, and platform features - focusing on what they can deliver today. Strategy assesses the vendor's future direction and execution ability through vision, roadmap, partner ecosystem, innovation, pricing approach, community engagement, and supporting services - focusing on their potential to evolve and support long-term customer needs.

Reference

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