Blog

Communications should also meet accessibility requirements.

2011-05-12T15:54:51Z

Most individuals in the work place have no problem using a desk phone to answer, end, dial and even hold a call
regardless of that users ability level. However, features like Message Waiting, Incoming Caller ID, Missed Calls List
and Who's on Hold are all features that are impossible for many to do without Tenacity’s software (or some other
equivalent software/hardware accommodation) if they have vision loss.

Specifically speaking about the lack of features mentioned above, accessibility law aside, why is it that phone
systems are being sold without the alternative communication interfaces? More importantly, why aren't users
speaking up more about the gap that exists in what they are able to do with their phone versus what their
colleagues (with a different ability level) are able to do? Are the users being silenced for reasons related to cost or
self identification fears?

Is it possible that the users and their respective organizations simply do not recognize this gap much less the fact
that Tenacity (and solutions like ours) exist to fill it? Would your organization be interested in participating in
a focus group using free copies of our software for your employees to use for 30 days so that they in turn can
document any inequality and publish a Case Study?

While we have great relationships with Section 508 Coordinators, most of our attempts to educate users through
this channel really do not amount to a lot of movement within a specific agency. We believe the reason has to do
with the current processes inside any given agency. What we have seen is that there is a gap between the Section
508 Coordinator and the procurement team. We usually only hear about a specific need from a Section 508
Coordinator when there is a problem (like a lawsuit or formal complaint). Of course this is way too late. There is no
reason that this should ever happen because 1) rules and regulations are getting more stringent when it comes to
the purchase and deployment of communications technology inside any Government Agency or commercial entity
for that matter and 2) both Tenacity and OEMs have made the purchase process much easier over the years (i.e.
adding our products to their parts list).

Another idea that we have been thinking about is perhaps changing the way phone systems are ordered. More
specifically, we propose updating the phone vendor shopping cart to make it easier for resellers to realize that
there is an option available if the customer wants to meet ADA/Section 508 compliance. If there were a check box
labeled "Section 508 Compliance", perhaps this would make it easier for Resellers to sell/deploy systems that are
compliant from the start.

Some people say TTY usage is dying, and we agree that from a user perspective this option is not very attractive
anymore due to the age of the technology. However, there are many reasons why TTY still has traction in the
enterprise today.

1. Large hearing impaired population that does not speak sign language
2. Govt. still requires the support of Baudot tones in an enterprise
3. Many 911 centers do not support email or SMS which leaves the deaf with next to nothing else outside of TTY

We believe this is why we are seeing a great deal more requests for our ipTTY application in recent months.

Pricing can't be the issue when meeting compliance (for our Enterprise plans). We have done our best to make
these telephony enhancements "readily achievable" through price reductions and simple deployment options.
We've seen that for most new telephony deployments, the portion of the bill required to meet compliance is less
than 1%; and this is for an unlimited number of licenses for employees with any disability.

So weigh in. Sign up to participate in a Focus Group today by requesting a Test Drive today and note “Focus Group” in the Comment Section.

Message to CIO’s and the Organization Procurement Team: Should accessible solutions be included in the initial RFP?

2010-09-16T13:24:24Z

Say it is time to upgrade/replace the organization’s phone system to keep up with the latest demands from the end users. You, as the CIO, have a lot of work to do; so you outsource the work involved in the request for proposal (RFP) process to an outside firm or individual.

As one might imagine, this is a very tedious and important job. Many things have to be considered when choosing the right phone system for the organization. Unfortunately, many times accessibility seems to be an afterthought. This is usually the case because the needs of the end users (employees) have not been surveyed. Here is what may likely happen if ADA and Section 508 compliant solutions are not included in the bid process.

The RFP consultant does his/her job and manages the proposal process and a phone system is chosen. On the seventh month after the new phone system has been deployed, an employee or number of employees, or even worse, a customer files a formal complaint. Who is on the hook? Not the outsourced firm or even the phone vendor (unless they made false promises regarding the phone system being compliant with the law). The likely candidate that will suffer the most is the CIO and/or procurement manager.

Accommodating individual user needs through custom solutions is more expensive than deploying a phone system with accessibility options included. The expense to retrofit includes research time, testing, implementing as well as the ongoing maintenance required for the non-standard, one-off patch. What usually hurts most is that these costs can be much higher after the phone system has been purchased and deployed. Why not take care of this up front and save a lot of time and effort and thus create an environment that promotes equal access. This way, the process of hiring and retaining valuable employees that all benefit from enhanced usability can be carried out efficiently and economically.

Many organizations take the RFP process in terms of accessibility to the next level by making the phone vendor/reseller prove their compliance. The Commonwealth of MA is one of them. Requiring proof of accessibility compliance during the procurement process is becoming more common as accessibility compliance is more frequently and stringently enforced.

CIOs and Procurement Managers must demand from the phone vendors and resellers that the phone system be accessible and compliant with the law up front and during the RFP process.

Accessible Telephony in the UK just got a whole lot easier.

2009-11-02T21:47:00Z

The week of October 20, 2009, Tenacity and DLX Networks have teamed up to promote accessible communications solutions in the United Kingdom. These solutions are designed to assist individuals in securing and maintaining jobs while helping employers with securing and maintaining a diverse work force, reducing turnover due to inadequate and/or inaccessible work environments and compliance with the current regulations set forth by the Disability Discrimination Act of 2005 and the Communications Act of 2003.

Tenacity is responsible for developing the solution while DLX Networks and their cadre of highly skilled engineers will be responsible for deploying and maintaining the solutions in the UK area. In addition to improving workplace accessibility in the area of telephony, DLX Networks, a Certified Cisco Premier Partner, offers an entire suite of solutions. You can view more information by visiting the link below.

http://www.dlxnetworks.co.uk/solutions/accessibility-solutions

Cut costs while following the law.

2009-09-23T20:47:00Z

Since it is the law to either have a TTY machine available or deploy equipment that supports TTY machines, why not save money doing it? Almost every organization that has deployed TTY machines, has them setup with analog phone lines. There is a reoccurring cost associated with every analog line; the cost to maintain and lease the line from the phone company. Analog lines cost an average of about $30 per line per month. If your organization has 10 TTY’s deployed, the cost could be surprising.

ipTTY – a particular flavor of accessaphone – allows an organization to get rid of the analog lines that are connected to TTY machines because the soft TTY application does not require an analog line or voice modem for that matter. The application simply connects directly to the VoIP/Hybrid PBX as long as the phone system supports 3rd party SIP devices. Additionally, Telecom Managers can realize a quicker ROI for their purchased phone system because of this newly found use of SIP.

Who says accessibility can’t save an organization money?

Are enterprise phones really accessible?

2009-09-14T20:48:00Z

Phones are accessible right? Who doesn’t know how to pick up a receiver to answer a call, push the appropriate buttons to dial the call or place the receiver back on the base station to hang up a call? Does that mean the phones are accessible? Yes, phones do come with a raised bump on the five key but shouldn’t there be more?

What if you are someone who has trouble pressing those keys on the dial pad because of some special physical need? What if you are someone with vision loss and want to know something as simple as who the person is calling you, what missed calls you have or if you have any voice mails? What if you simply just had trouble figuring out how to transfer a call?

Since the phone is an important tool in any office environment, I would like to see more of a push to make this device more accessible to all. There is a solution available now that helps people accomplish the above scenarios and it is called accessaphone™.

Help me establish awareness regarding enterprise phones and the enhanced accessibility and usability now available with accessaphone™. Also, I would be very interested in your own personal experiences regarding features/functionality that might be missing from your enterprise phone.

About accessaphone: accessaphone is growing in popularity in the workplace. For instance, for the vision impaired employee, the application speaks letting them know who is calling, how many missed calls they have and when they have a voice mail. If the individual has a mobility impairment, through the use of accessaphone, the employee now can control his/her enterprise phone via voice commands using industry standard voice recognition software. accessaphone is compatible with several enterprise phone systems.

You want this access ramp where?

2009-09-11T20:49:00Z

Technology is improving at a rapid pace; improving for who you might ask? In many cases, every month, many technology manufacturers race to release tools and solutions with a continuously expanding feature set. Solutions facilitating the convergence of voice and data are at the forefront of this movement to increase features because you see it is their product features that play a huge role in product differentiation. To them, their features set their solutions apart from competitors.

Along with these advances in technology comes complexity. It is a delicate balancing act to provide robust features that rely on complex technology to work and an easy to use interface to control it. Add the common situation where an entity supports multiple phone systems in the organization and now you have multiple interfaces to learn and support as well as multiple training programs, if the entity provides training on the phone at all.

What if company phone systems all shared the same interface, with built in accessibility and usability features that enable every employee to communicate how they want to using the phone – with voice, video and/or real time text? Each individual employee could use the enterprise phone system, available to all employees, without the need for a special accommodation. accessaphone fulfills the need for a single interface to multiple phone systems adding accessible, usable call control for every employee on the system. The alternative, which is creating a custom solution for each employee essentially equates to placing an access ramp to each employees individual office versus the entire building. That is what essentially happens when an organization decides to “accommodate” a few individuals with customized solutions. Crazy right? Then why do we continue to accommodate when it comes to telephony? The mindset clearly needs to change.

What do you face at your office? Does the Information Technology or Phone department provide and support a non-standard phone for you? Are there co-workers who would like to have what you have but do not qualify for it or are reluctant to ask for it? Let me know.