Level Access Named a Leader in First-Ever Digital Accessibility Forrester Wave™

Cue the confetti: In the first-ever Forrester Wave evaluation dedicated to digital accessibility platforms, research and advisory firm Forrester recognized Level Access as a Leader among providers—and we couldn’t be prouder.

For more than two decades, we’ve dedicated ourselves to one goal: helping organizations build a more inclusive digital world. We believe Forrester’s evaluation validates that our work is making a meaningful impact on our customers and the audiences they serve. And it reinforces our commitment to providing a solution that doesn’t just allow organizations to meet bare-minimum compliance standards but empowers them to proactively create equitable experiences for all. So why do these rankings matter—and how does our solution stack up, according to analysts? In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of the Forrester Wave report, and the key factors that position us as a Leader.

“Level Access is the only vendor in this evaluation to earn all superior or on par scores for its current offering. Its platform is particularly strong in policy configuration, embedded learning, program analytics, and usability.” – The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023

The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023

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An objective roadmap for an expanding industry

Since our launch in 1997, the digital landscape has evolved dramatically, and the digital accessibility space has evolved with it. Thanks to many converging factors—including organizations’ widespread adoption of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, increased regulatory and legal pressure, and elevated awareness of the business benefits of creating inclusive experiences—along with advocacy from people with disabilities and their allies—digital accessibility is now a mainstream priority across sectors and industries. As organizations increasingly recognize the importance of digital accessibility, a growing number of vendors have emerged to support teams’ efforts. But with so many different options on the market, it can be challenging for organizations to identify the best solution for their needs. The release of the first-ever Forrester Wave report on digital accessibility platforms not only signifies the maturity of the digital accessibility space today, but also equips buyers with a much-needed framework for making informed purchasing decisions.

What makes Level Access a Forrester Wave Leader?

As the digital accessibility industry has grown and changed, we’ve remained committed to providing the most effective, sustainable solution in the market. And with the release of the Forrester Wave, that commitment has garnered great results. Level Access was named a Leader with the highest score in the current offering category. This scoring draws back to the fundamental beliefs that inform our solution and approach. Our platform and services are evidence of our firm belief that digital accessibility is an ongoing practice, not a one-time project. It’s a shared responsibility across an organization, that should be embedded in, not added onto, teams’ day-to-day work. And it brings plenty of opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. The specific categories in which Forrester ranked vendors seamlessly aligned with our own philosophy, validating for us the core principles driving our organizational roadmap. Here are some aspects of our solution that contributed to our ranking as a Leader among the industry’s eight most significant vendors:

Platform

Level Access is the only vendor in Forrester’s report to receive the highest score possible of 5.0 in the platform criteria. Digital accessibility is important work, performed by many people across an organization. From designers, developers, and content authors to marketing, legal, and compliance teams, we believe that everyone has a role in a successful practice. That’s why the Level Access Platform unifies digital accessibility across teams, providing a centralized system of record for decentralized work streams. In our opinion, Forrester’s evaluation is consistent with our focus on cross-functional enablement when it comes to accessibility: we know that accessibility needs to be a shared priority, with distributed efforts united by a single source of truth.

Supporting services and offerings

Our ranking as a leader among evaluated digital accessibility providers doesn’t rest on the strength of our unified platform alone. We also scored a 5.0 in the Forrester Wave in the supporting services and offerings criteria, which evaluated services including our legal support, governance documentation, and strategic guidance on program management. We believe that the more a team understands accessibility guidelines, compliance requirements, and their own individual strategic roadmap, the higher their likelihood of success with digital accessibility. That’s why we partner with our customers to provide the crucial training and expertise they need to make the most of their commitment to online inclusion.

Partner ecosystem

In its analysis, Forrester also evaluated a vendor’s partner ecosystem. At Level Access, we highly value the cultivation of a community beyond our employee base. We understand that in a complex and rapidly evolving digital landscape, it takes many teams, working together, to ensure accessibility for all. Our partnerships with digital agencies, consultancies, and industry groups help us amplify our impact, allowing us to share our expertise with audiences across sectors and industries. They also offer our teams opportunities for continual learning and feedback, helping us be the very best we can be for our clients. In fact, the Forrester report specifically mentioned the extended client support we offer via our partnerships, noting that our “strong partner ecosystem positions [us] well to deliver on clients’ end-to-end needs.”

Roadmap

Forrester’s evaluation doesn’t just confirm for us the leadership we demonstrate through our current offering, but also covers the strength of our product roadmap, for which we received a 5.0, ranking two or more points above all other solution providers. We are constantly incorporating customer feedback in order to deliver the tools and support teams need to be successful. We make our roadmap accessible to customers through our platform and foster a direct feedback loop that ensures we’re providing the right value at the right time. In fact, Forrester specifically cited our ability to “deliver value to clients quickly.”

“Reference customers praise [Level Access’s] willingness to listen to, and innovate around, their needs, as well as the platform’s ease-of-use for business owners, not just engineers.” – The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023

Your partner for an accessible digital future

As digital technology, and digital accessibility, continue to evolve, it’s important to choose a partner that will keep pace with these changes. By validating for us the core beliefs driving our solution, Forrester’s evaluation makes us confident that we’re not only providing the strongest platform on the market today, but also will continue to serve the needs of organizations tomorrow. Download the full Forrester Wave: Digital Accessibility Platforms, Q4 2023 report for a comprehensive overview of the current solutions landscape, and learn more about how analysts rank Level Access and other providers in the categories that matter to your organization. Think we might be a good fit? Reach out to our team to demo our platform in action.