20 January 2005
The growing importance of website accessibility has led iFocus, Australia’s fastest growing IT professional services firm in 2004, to acquire leading accessibility consultancy PurpleTop.
Greg Muller, Managing Director of iFocus, says: “PurpleTop is a clear leader in website accessibility, and we see this as one of the big website issues in 2005.”
“We are now concentrating on methods to maintain steady growth. PurpleTop was the leading accessibility firm in Australia, so the fit is perfect as we look to expand our compliance offering.”
Accessibility is described by the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) as “…designing web pages so they can be navigated and read by everyone regardless of location, experience or type of computer technology used”.
Companies that do not make their web sites accessible leave themselves open for prosecution under the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA).
The acquisition also means that PurpleCop, the newly released accessibility auditing software, will now come under the control of iFocus. “PurpleCop is a tool enabling organisations to remain compliant with accessibility guidelines, and has the foundation to become an international market-leading application. Our product team will set out to realise PurpleCop’s full potential”, says Mr Muller.
iFocus partnered with PurpleTop in November 2004. They worked on several projects together, including the Department for Victorian Communities’ Skilled Migrants Program.
Gian Sampson-Wild, Principal of PurpleTop said, “We discovered through partnership that our objectives were closely aligned. It was a natural progression for PurpleTop to join with iFocus”.
PurpleTop has been in operation since September 2000 and has provided accessibility consultancy services for organisations such as Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, Department of Human Services–Disability Services, Disability Online and Multimedia Victoria. Ms Sampson-Wild has eight years experience on accessibility projects as varied as the eGovernment Accessibility Toolkit and the creation of the Commonwealth Games Scheduling and Ticketing tables. She has been on the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Working Group since 2001 and has been an integral part of developing the second version of the guidelines.
Ms Sampson-Wild believes that companies and organisations benefit from providing accessible web sites in many ways. “It is more than just compliance”, she said. “Accessibility is integral to communication and marketing as well”.
“An accessible web site communicates clearly to a range of users. Rather than worrying about being prosecuted under the DDA, organisations need to ensure they are not losing uncommitted users to other services because of an inefficient web site”, she said. “And this is even more important for Government departments, who have an obligation to the public to provide information”.
“Accessibility also needs to account for different levels of hardware, software and general computer knowledge among users”, she said.
Mr Muller said that Ms Sampson-Wild’s knowledge on accessibility and compliance was second to none. “She has been actively involved in developing the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and is recognised as an industry leader. iFocus is delighted to have her expertise on board”.
“We will offer independent services to the market, meaning developers, vendors and clients will have access to our full range of accessibility and compliance services”, says Mr Muller.
“Together, we will seek to develop and support large scale market opportunities while committing to developing intellectual property and research”, he said. iFocus will provide the full range of consulting, audit and development services.
iFocus is an eBusiness and information management consultancy that was founded in 2000. The company has been recently ranked 14th in BRW’s Fast 100 list of companies, placing it as the fastest growing company in Australia’s IT professional services sector.
PurpleTop is an accessibility consultancy founded in 2000. Principal, Gian Sampson-Wild, is a Member of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Working Group.
For further information please contact:
Greg Muller
Managing Director
iFocus Pty Ltd
Phone: 03 8807 0100
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