Accessibility software company Deque Systems said that it is working with Microsoft to add Windows platform support to the axe accessibility rules engine.
Axe has the world's most widely deployed Web accessibility rules engine, currently deployed to 25 million devices. Microsoft's new and significant Windows contributions to axe extend this widely adopted de facto Web accessibility ruleset standard.
The company said that now developers across Web, Windows, Android and iOS platforms can test their code in development using a common, unified approach, allowing them to prevent critical issues from impacting people around the world with disabilities.
“We have been working for 20 years building up to this moment,” said Preety Kumar, CEO of Deque Systems. “Deque's core mission has been to make accessibility a daily responsibility of every development and design team in the world. This collaboration is a huge step toward making that a reality.”
Keith Ballinger, General Manager, Developer Services, Microsoft said, “Microsoft and Deque share a common vision of a more inclusive digital future. We are excited to expand our collaboration with Deque as it is an essential part of our journey to design, build, and launch more accessible products.”
In addition to the axe contributions, Microsoft is announcing the open sourcing of Accessibility Insights, a set of tools that will developers to build more inclusive solutions, said the company.
