New York State
Forum Selects HiSoftware for State
Web Accessibility Validation
Solution
Validation solution to be
made available to all New York State
Agencies and State University
campuses to validate compliance with
Web accessibility as specified by
the NYS Office for Technology
Mandatory Technology Standard
S04-001
Albany, NY and Nashua, NH –
October 16, 2007 – The New York
State Forum (www.nysforum.org),
a program of The Research Foundation
of The State University of New York,
announced today that it has selected
HiSoftware (www.hisoftware.com), a
leading provider of software,
services and managed operation
solutions, as a partner for
developing a Web-based compliance
testing solution. The solution will
be available to all New York state
and local government Web developers
required to be in compliance with
New York State’s Web accessibility
requirements.
Gregory Benson, Jr., executive
director of The NYS Forum,
underscored the importance of the
compliance testing tool, “As more
state and local government
information and services migrate to
the Internet, equitable access for
all is essential,” says Benson.
“Viewing this as a priority, The NYS
Forum has worked in partnership with
the NYS Office for Technology and
Office of the State CIO to create
state standards that address Web
accessibility and usability for the
disabled. We are pleased to be
working with HiSoftware and the best
of New York State’s government Web
development staff on the creation of
this compliance testing tool. We are
confident it will contribute to the
efficiency of those who create the
thousands of state and local
government Web pages for public
access.”
The validation solution will
address multiple standards. In 2004,
OFT issued NYS Technology Policy
P04-002, Accessibility of State
Agency Web-based Intranet and
Internet Information and
Applications and NYS Mandatory
Technology Standard (MTS) S04-001,
Accessibility of State Agency
Web-based Intranet and Internet
Information and Applications. The
Mandatory Technology Standard
comprises 14 individual guidelines
that must be adhered to, and Policy
P04-002 requires State agency Web
developers and contractors to
validate content prior to posting it
on the Web site. NYSMTS SO4-001 is a
composite of guidelines adapted from
the Worldwide Web Consortium's (W3C)
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
(WCAG) version 1.0 and from U.S.
Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act.
Diane Taylor of the Office of the
NYS Comptroller and Chair of The New
York State Forum’s Executive Board,
said, “The creation of this
validation tool was one of the seven
recommended actions that resulted
from a NY state Web developer’s
survey conducted in 2005 by The New
York State Forum. It had become
evident that Web development
contractors working on state Web
pages were having difficulty
performing adequate compliance
testing. To address these
difficulties, both in the government
and corporate sectors, The NYS Forum
has undertaken this important
project to create a NYS-specific
accessibility compliance validation
tool. We are working in close
coordination with the NYS Office of
the Chief Information Officer to see
that this developmental work is in
close alignment with the state
standards.”
HiSoftware President and CEO,
Kurt A. Mueffelmann, said, “The
State of New York has implemented a
very aggressive Web accessibility
program through the various
initiatives it has put in place to
govern the accessibility of its Web
sites. We are pleased that The New
York Forum has selected HiSoftware
and its solutions to help meet its
state-wide goals for providing fully
accessible Web sites and resources
for all individuals.”
About NYS
Forum (NYSFORUM)
A program of The Research
Foundation of The State University
of New York, the New York State
Forum is a network of public
officials and state government
organizations concerned with
information management, policy, and
technology. The mission of the New
York State Forum to promote policies
and practices for effective,
equitable and secure use and
management of information resources
in New York State government at all
levels. For more information about
the NYS Forum visit
www.nysforum.org.
About
HiSoftware
Founded in 1998, HiSoftware is a
leading provider of software,
services, and On-Demand solutions
that test, repair, monitor and
enforce Web content, quality, and
regulatory compliance. The company’s
solutions empower content
developers, Web site architects, and
executives to work collaboratively
to create and manage corporate Web
standards for accessibility,
privacy, security, search engine
optimization (SEO), site quality and
performance, branding, competitive
intelligence, and application
transaction testing. HiSoftware’s customers boast many of
the world’s largest public and
private sites including US and
international government agencies
and Global 2000 companies such as
Gateway, HP, California State
University, US Department of
Transportation and Microsoft. For more information
about HiSoftware visit
www.hisoftware.com.
Media Contact
Irena Mroz
HiSoftware
+1.603.578.1870
irena@hisoftware.com
