Interact helps employers comply with the legal requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) by providing the only fully accessible intranet solution which exceeds the DDA ‘AA’ standards.
Commenting on the achievement, Nigel Danson , Managing Director, Odyssey Interactive Ltd, said:
“We are delighted that RNIB has recognised Interact as meeting the stringent requirements of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This is a great achievement and means that Interact is the only intranet that complies with the new Disability Equality Duty which is now in force.
We elected to undergo the process of an RNIB accessibility audit because we wanted to be sure that Interact is easy to use by all users, regardless of any disability or technology need. It brings peace of mind to our customers who can be confident that their intranet meets the Government’s accessibility requirements.
Our goal is not simply to comply with the law, but to build an enterprise portal that harnesses the knowledge of everyone in an organisation to make a more productive working environment; accessibility improvements often bring better usability – and better usability can increase productivity.”
Many employers are under the misapprehension that intranets are exempt from the DDA as it is not a service provided to the general public, like a website. However, this is not the case (see * below).
Danson continued:
“Interact Intranet has been built embracing the latest web technologies and trends in web development but ease of use and efficient user experience is what has made it such an effective and successful tool. “
The application has been kept simple to provide the same content and functionality to people who use assistive technology yet still provides a rich user experience. It makes use of the latest web technologies such as multimedia, while at the same time accommodating the needs of those who have difficulty with or are unable to use these technologies
Marco Ranon from RNIB Web Access Consultancy added:
“Interact’s level of accessibility is impressive, and the RNIB Web Access Consultancy is pleased to reward Odyssey Interactive for their huge effort in making the Interact Intranet such an accessible product.”
*Most intranets will be caught by the DDA because they are used to provide basic information that helps staff to perform their normal duties, information like contact details, forms for holiday requests or appraisals, office manuals and more. Without access to this a disabled person could argue that s/he is subjected to a 'detriment' in terms of section 4; being treated 'less favourably' in terms of section 5; and being put at a 'substantial disadvantage' in terms of section 6. It follows that a failure to make an intranet accessible to one disabled member of staff could result in a finding of discrimination – and an award of damages against the employer.
About Interact
Interact is a versatile, fully secure Intranet which can be quickly and easily updated by non technical users. It seamlessly integrates with other IT applications providing a single one-stop portal for business processes and information such as staff details, news and procedures.
The core software comprises a sophisticated range of built-in applications and contains all the features you need for a powerful and flexible strategic intranet which promotes collaboration and communication. A range of sophisticated additional plug-in business software is available to suit key business processes.
The latest version of the software, Interact 4, has been developed to take advantage of the latest technologies as used by websites like Facebook and Amazon. Its unique Intelligence Store logs information such as browsing routes, search entries, documents ratings and hits and uses this information to promote content to users. It automatically creates links to other information such as articles, discussions, events and people so that each piece of information is not isolated, but is part of a greater whole – the intranet information store. The more the intranet is used and the more content is added the more powerful and effective it becomes.
About Odyssey InteractiveFounded in 1996, Odyssey Interactive Ltd is one of the UK’s longest established web development companies. Based in Altrincham, Cheshire, the company specialises in providing the UK’s leading out-of-the box intranet solution, Interact.
With over a decade of experience Odyssey has built a solid reputation for both product excellence and outstanding customer service. Organisations using Interact report improved efficiency, greater productivity, increased staff commitment, better decision making and cost savings. Interact is used by over 150,000 people across a diverse range of clients in both the private and public sectors including HMV, Waterstone’s, Chelsea Football Club, Tyco ADT, Tradeteam DHL, Amicus, CLIC Sargent, Calor as well as NHS and social housing organisations.
