Members of the Ottawa Software Cluster see growing market potential behind making information technology more accessible to people with disabilities.

One of the cluster's working groups is investigating opportunities on how all forms of software can be developed to suit people who use screen readers, or those who are limited to using a mouse or a keyboard due to their disability.

Heading up the group is Helen Maskery, president of her own consulting company, Maskery. By donning special glasses that simulate partial blindness, earplugs to imitate deafness or oven mitts to create a lack of dexterity, she can demonstrate how to test the accessibility of a company's software programs or web site.

If the Ottawa software community channels its expertise into providing products that improve accessibility, it could become "a big opportunity", says Mario Poirier, chairperson of the software cluster.

"We have the expertise in this town that will help us be among the most competitive providers in (this space)."

A few factors have prompted people such as Maskery and Poirier to examine this market. New legislation in the United States mandates all federal agencies to follow extensive rules when buying high-tech tools such as software. Stringent procurement conditions demand all products be highly accessible and user-friendly.

Meanwhile, various American states are looking to follow suit and there is an ongoing effort by the Government of Canada to make all federal web sites accessible to all users.

In the private sector, companies such as IBM, Cognos and Nortel have shown leadership in the area, says Maskery.

Those who think demand for such tools as screen readers translates into a small niche market should think again, she adds.

According to Industry Canada, disabled Canadians comprise 16 per cent of the country's population. Surveys show arthritis, blindness and deafness are among the top physical impairments affecting Canadians and generally hit people 50 years of age or over.

With a large section of the Canadian population reaching or surpassing this age, more people will demand tools to make it easier for them to use computer programs and electronic office equipment and access the web, says Maskery. She adds able-bodied people are often temporarily disabled, whether they have broken an arm or have limited hearing due to background noise or limited vision from glare.

"In this context, these (users) can be considered disabled."

These temporary disabilities will fuel innovative solutions aimed at improving access to information technology in a world characterized by on-demand transactions and mobility, Maskery says.

Businesses that fail to consider this market segment could be forgoing a large portion of potential market share, says Mary Frances Laughton, chief of Industry Canada's assistive devices industry office. By making their products more accessible and user-friendly, companies can lower operating costs because support calls will go down, adds Maskery. The number of dissatisfied customers will also go down, reducing the volume of returned products, she says.

Shortcomings in accessibility are risky for another reason: a section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms deems it illegal to discriminate on the grounds of disability, says Laughton.

Laughton's office has promoted accessibility in Ottawa by ensuring ALT text, for example, is used by all federal government agencies and departments. ALT text is applied to a web site's data cells so a screen reader can interpret the contents. The use of ALT text by government offices is mandated by Ottawa's Treasury Board Secretariat.

Such requirements become especially important when a blind person, for example, needs to know whether a bank has improved its mortgage rates. If that bank informs people of the new rate through its web site and the site's data cells cannot be read by a screen reader, a blind person is at a real disadvantage, says Laughton.

While it's still early days for Maskery's working group, plans are already in place for a local information session on accessibility.

"(Information on this topic) is starting to get out there, but more needs to be done," Maskery says.

Too many people think accessibility costs a lot of money and don't provide a return on initial investment, she says.

"If we start to get more and more people in place with money, we can begin to (kickstart) things and begin debunking some of these myths."