Our vision as an organization is to ensure that our products are accessible to all who wish to use them.
In May 2006, the American Foundation for the Blind honored Cisco with the Helen Keller Achievement Award in recognition of our industry leadership in making products accessible for people with vision loss.
Our Accessibility Initiative
In FY2004 we launched the Cisco Accessibility Initiative, designed to make our products, facilities, Websites, and documentation accessible to our employees and to users with disabilities. We have factored accessibility into product concept, design, and development and make accessibility a priority consideration at every stage of the Cisco product lifecycle.
Cisco Accessibility Initiative Timeline
We comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 255 of the U.S. Telecommunications Act, and the U.K. Disability Discrimination Act. We also strive to conform to Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act and other legislation. In addition, Cisco's employee intranet complies with U.S. regulations, and the Web Accessibility Initiative, which is an independent consortium working with organizations worldwide to develop strategies, guidelines, and resources to help make the Web accessible to people with disabilities.
We participate in standards-development committees run by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), to ensure that our products meet the highest international standards.
Progress and Future Plans
During FY2006, we successfully expanded the Cisco Accessibility Initiative to four new business units, bringing the total number of business units engaged to 12. We have also expanded the Accessibility Academy, which offers online training for accessibility awareness to Cisco product managers and engineers.
Cisco is committed to making its products, services, Websites, and documentation accessible and usable by people with disabilities, either by design or through compatible use with assistive technology.
To help ensure that Cisco products and services benefit the disabled community, we are committed to:
- Increasing awareness of accessibility within Cisco
- Providing employees with the training needed to design, produce, market, and deliver accessible products, Websites, and documentation
- Developing and applying policies and guidelines to evaluate accessibility, usability, and compatibility with applicable equipment, services, Websites, and documentation
- Evaluating accessibility and usability throughout the product design, development, and fabrication processes as early and consistently as possible
- Reporting ways these guidelines are implemented where competitively, technically, and economically feasible
- Involving people with disabilities in research projects, testing, and trials
- Supporting and contributing to industry standards and guidelines for accessibility
During FY2007, the Accessibility Team will educate the 11 remaining business units about accessibility requirements. Additionally, we plan to update the IT department's processes for developing and procuring software to include accessibility, and to ensure that accessibility is a consideration.
