The 21st Century has witnessed a number of developments, especially in the technology sector. One such development is the growing use of SAAS (Software as a service) products and services. 

SAAS is a software licensing and delivery model in which software is licensed on a subscription basis and is centrally hosted. It is also known as "on-demand software.” Essentially, SAAS is a way of delivering applications as a service over the Internet. Wikipedia

According to a recent study, the global SAAS market is expected to grow from $225.6 billion in 2020 to $436.9 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate of 12.5%. 

That’s huge! 

Keeping this in mind, it becomes all the more important for companies to focus on accessibility. Inclusive technology will be a key driver to growth for SAAS companies. Software as a Service (SAAS) solutions & Accessibility together will be that enabler that will promote innovation, bridge the digital divide experienced by people with disabilities, and provide the competitive edge to SAAS solutions. 

At BarrierBreak, we believe that creating a limitless future by ensuring technologies are accessible to all! 

Let’s have a look at other companies that is focusing on accessibility in SAAS. 

Salesforce 

Overview: Salesforce unites your marketing, sales, commerce, service, and IT teams from anywhere with Customer 360 — one integrated CRM platform that powers entire suite of connected apps. With Customer 360, you can focus your employees on what’s important right now: stabilizing your business, reopening, and getting back to delivering exceptional customer experiences. 

Accessibility Status: Salesforce’s core values are trust, customer success, innovation, and equality. They believe that by making technology more accessible, they are helping create a future with greater opportunity and equality for all. Disability inclusion is fundamental to this belief, and they recognize that inclusion fuels innovation. 

VM Ware 

Overview: VMware offers a breadth of digital solutions that powers apps, services, and experiences which enable organizations to deliver the best customer service and empower employees. 

Accessibility Status: “Our focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is both important and necessary in our evolution as a business. Our Power of Difference communities are collectively raising our consciousness of the company and helping us build a platform for equitable change.” – Raghu Raghuram, CEO, VMware 

Adobe 

Overview: Since 2012, Adobe has been transitioning to a SAAS-first business model. It has launched several leading SAAS products in the market including Adobe Creative Cloud and highly popular Adobe Experience Platform. Adobe is a perfect fit for independent creative firms, large-sized/mid-sized/small sized marketing companies and B2C businesses. Adobe is arguably the market-leader when it comes to design and marketing. 

Accessibility Status: Adobe is a reputed organization in accessibility and supports the creation of outstanding web experiences by encouraging developers to produce rich, engaging content that is accessible to all. They believe that when people feel respected and included, they can be more creative, innovative and successful. While they have more work to do to advance diversity and inclusion, one might feel they are moving in the correct direction. 

Atlassian 

Overview: Atlassian is a leading provider of collaboration tools for teams (remote and distributed). It is a pure SAAS company that offers pinpoint solutions for your most critical problems. With a team of more than 7k employees and a strong capability in agile planning and agile product development, it has several products including Jira Software, Jira Align, Jira Service Management, Trello, Bitbucket and Confluence. 

Accessibility Status: Atlassian is committed to accessibility. They are accelerating forward with their born accessible products. They’re learning and growing and are committed to making accessibility one of the core pillars of their software development process. They also have VPAT documents of how their products address WCAG 2.1 AA. 

Edcast 

Overview: EdCast offers a unified talent experience platform designed to enable end-to-end employee journeys spanning learning, skilling and career mobility. Its award-winning platform is used internationally by organizations ranging from large Global 2000 companies to small businesses and governments. With Edcast’s platforms, businesses are able to attract, develop and retain a high-performance and future-ready workforce. 

Accessibility Status: EdCast is committed to make the LXP platform accessible to everyone. They continuously work towards improving the accessibility features on their platform to ensure that all users get the most out of the platform. Their goal is to make their platform accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of technology or ability. They even have VPAT documentation of their product. 

Conclusion 

As SAAS is growing at a rapid pace across all the sectors, it has become essential for businesses to adapt accessibility right from the start. It will not only help you comply with laws but also help you extend your customer reach, provide equitable access and enable improved experience for everyone. 

Reach out to our highly specialized team of native accessibility testers to help make your SAAS products accessible. Get in touch at sales@barrierbreak.com.

Download the SAAS Accessibility Toolkit - A guide to implementing accessibility in your SAAS products.