Digital Accessibility: What It is and Why It Matters
In Italy, over 13 million people live with some form of disability, 3 million of them with a severe form. When a condition affects more than one in five citizens, ensuring equitable access to digital services is not just a necessity, but a collective duty.
This raises a core question for both public and private sectors: why is digital accessibility important? Understanding what digital accessibility is – and how to achieve it – is now central for any organization planning and delivering digital solutions.
Digital Accessibility, Far More Than a Moral Duty
Digital accessibility is not just a best practice – it’s a right, backed by precise legal obligations for those who design digital systems and services. It has become increasingly relevant with the enforcement of the European Accessibility Act on June 28, 2025, that aims to harmonize standards across the EU and to promote inclusion by making digital products and services more accessible.
Italy has a long-standing legislative framework on accessibility, especially in the public sector. As early as 2004, the “Legge Stanca” mandated that websites and digital tools of public entities be accessible. This commitment was reinforced by the implementation of EU Directive 2016/2102 and the 2020 publication of the AgID Guidelines on ICT Accessibility, which outline technical requirements for public-sector ICT tools, verification and monitoring methods, and how to draft the annual Accessibility Statement, that certifies the compliance status of each website and application.
Achieving accessibility compliance is an ongoing process, maintained through regular monitoring, dedicated assessments, and transparency with all stakeholders.
Digital Accessibility: What It Means and the “By Design” Approach
So, what is digital accessibility? Too often, it is mistaken for a purely visual concern, focusing only on UI elements. But accessibility spans far beyond visual design; it addresses a variety of permanent and temporary disabilities and must encompass the entire user experience.
According to AgID, digital accessibility is the ability of ICT systems “to deliver services and information usable by anyone, in any situation”.
Because each form of disability presents unique interaction challenges, they must be addressed early in the software development process. Digital accessibility should be treated as a core requirement, integrated in the project by design. This not only simplifies accessibility compliance but also improves long-term sustainability and efficiency.
Naturally, not every system can be designed from scratch. Often, teams work with legacy platforms under technical or functional constraints. In these cases, in addition to following clear guidelines – such as WCAG and the UNI CEI EN 301549 standard cited by AgID – organizations must rely on structured processes and tools to evolve their systems.
The successful Approach to Software & Digital Accessibility
A successful software accessibility strategy rests on more than just design: it requires ongoing accessibility testing as a core component of your development lifecycle. A process-driven approach to software accessibility is centered on continuous accessibility testing and improvement, ensuring long-term accessibility compliance.
Digital accessibility is not limited to technical checks. It’s a complex, cross-disciplinary field requiring solid methodology and specialized expertise. This is why not all IT vendors can or should tackle it.
The first step involves both technical and subjective assessments, as outlined by regulation. Technical testing focuses on code and interfaces, often supported by automated tools like MAUVE++, which identifies issues based on WCAG standards. But flagging a technical issue is only the beginning; teams must then interpret the issue in context, translate it into functional or structural changes, and implement them carefully.
Subjective evaluations are even more nuanced. They involve real users with different accessibility needs and require guidance from “human factors experts” to design meaningful test paths, solicit relevant feedback, and synthesize actionable insights.
Ultimately, managing digital accessibility requires coordination among diverse roles: developers, system architects, UX/UI experts, human factors professionals, legal advisors, and compliance officers. And all of this unfolds in a rapidly evolving landscape, where regulations like the European Accessibility Act continue to raise the bar.
The NetCom Method: From Accessibility Testing to Accessibility Statements
At NetCom, we support both public and private organizations in their digital accessibility journey, combining specialized expertise with deep experience in software development. Our work with complex institutions – such as the Italian Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato – has enabled us to refine a robust process, developed in collaboration with qualified partners.
We start with a comprehensive assessment that combines automated and human-based evaluation. Based on these results, we implement targeted interventions on code and application architecture, always aligned with security and accessibility compliance requirements.
The process includes DevOps-based development, testing, and release phases to ensure speed, traceability, and sustainability even in highly complex environments. We also support the drafting of the official Accessibility Statement, including the implementation of the AgID-required feedback mechanism.
In parallel, we are exploring the use of AI across multiple stages of the process, a growing area of expertise at NetCom. While the path is still evolving, the potential is already clear, from optimizing automated accessibility testing to assisting with fix generation and analyzing user feedback. One thing is certain: the future of digital accessibility will be shaped by the integration of human insight, technical expertise, and intelligent technologies.
As new technologies and regulations emerge, software accessibility remains a critical success factor for digital transformation and organizational reputation.