As regulatory pressures for accessibility mount all over the world, organizations are racing to arrange and digital accessibility platforms (DAPs) are stepping up. This summer time and fall, I dove deep into the DAP market, evaluating 9 high distributors throughout 25 standards for present providing and 7 for technique. As I heard briefings from govt groups and interviewed clients of those distributors, the aphorism “the extra issues change, the extra they keep the identical” saved operating via my head. Whereas the DAP market is surging across the promise of utilizing AI to spice up accessibility, core challenges that forestall organizations from scaling accessibility greatest practices, together with low platform adoption and challenges quantifying the ROI of accessibility investments, persist.
Listed here are 5 themes that emerged whereas I carried out analysis for The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, This autumn 2025.
Numerous purchaser wants drive extremely specialised choices. Whereas all distributors in our analysis meet Forrester’s definition of a DAP, some are tailor-made to particular use instances. For instance, one Robust Performer excels at empowering designers and builders to stop accessibility points early. One other helps clients with restricted improvement assets by taking up extra of the heavy lifting to remediate present experiences. One Contender facilities its platform round supply of its auditing companies. This specialization means many patrons use a number of DAPs — one for embedding accessibility testing into the software program improvement lifecycle and one other for monitoring reside experiences. Open-source instruments additionally play a job, particularly to be used instances like detecting and fixing accessibility points in design workflow instruments.
AI is ubiquitous however distributors’ visions and have depth range. Whereas adoption of AI options continues to be early, AI is poised to reshape how organizations obtain accessibility. Main platforms use AI to speed up detection, prioritization, remediation, and training. Selecting a vendor with strong, responsibly designed AI capabilities is a should for reaching accessibility at scale. However references we spoke with are additionally weighing human impacts, guaranteeing individuals with disabilities stay central and rethinking the function of accessibility consultants as AI brokers tackle extra duties. DAP distributors range within the extent to which they’re contemplating these questions as a part of their technique.
Functionality gaps persist in cell, paperwork, and ROI. Function gaps from our 2023 analysis stay. Just one vendor earned an above par rating for cell testing, and lots of reference clients stated issues akin to “I haven’t been impressed by something I’ve seen for cell.” Consumers additionally need higher assist for PDF testing, noting they want the identical stage of testing rigor and reporting as for web sites. Prospects nonetheless battle to inform a transparent accessibility ROI story, and most distributors provide little assist. Essentially the most superior platforms assist groups by linking accessibility knowledge to analytics (e.g., conversion knowledge) or displaying the impression of shifting accessibility left into design and improvement.
UX is a deciding consider vendor choice. DAPs should serve each technical and non-technical customers, however many fall quick on the latter. Robust adoption by accessibility groups and engineers doesn’t at all times translate to enterprise customers. To bolster adoption, references cited clear and actionable communication of accessibility points, leadership-friendly reporting, and low boundaries to entry for product groups as key causes for selecting their vendor.
Geographic experience is more and more a giant deal for patrons. With the European Accessibility Act and associated nation legal guidelines driving accessibility work, patrons more and more search distributors with deep regional data. This contains compliance dashboards tailor-made to particular laws and assist groups which might be fluent in native languages.
What’s Subsequent?
For a deeper view into the market learn the total report, The Forrester Wave™: Digital Accessibility Platforms, This autumn 2025, accessible to all Forrester shoppers now. Use the “Evaluate distributors” button firstly of the report to search out the best-fit vendor based mostly on the factors that matter most on your group. You too can schedule an inquiry or steering session with me to ask me questions or focus on how you can method choosing a DAP vendor on your group.
