Ongoing collaboration embeds inclusive design practices in development, driving quality, conformance and equity

Applause, a global provider of digital quality and crowd-sourced testing solutions, today announced the expansion of its partnership with Webex by Cisco, a leading provider of collaboration technologies powering employee and customer experiences, to enhance experiences for all users, including people with disabilities (PWD). As part of the expanded accessibility testing and training contract, Applause will provide ongoing conformance assessments to additional products within the Webex Suite to align with evolving accessibility standards. Applause’s end-to-end approach to digital accessibility enables insights earlier in product development to support Cisco’s goals of inclusivity and innovation.

With inclusive design and user experience (UX) expertise, plus access to the world’s largest community of independent testers, Applause has helped Cisco achieve consistent conformance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) standards for eight Webex products to date. The program has also tripled the number of Cisco Accessibility Champions who ensure inclusivity is baked into the overall product development process, thereby increasing developer velocity with over a thousand fewer bugs to remediate.

“At Webex, we focus on people and improving their collaboration experiences. This focus fuels our innovation to remove the barriers of geography, language, personality and familiarity with technology," said Travis Isaacs, Chief Design Officer at Webex by Cisco. "Building on our mutual vision to enhance employee experiences, Cisco and Applause are expanding our partnership to encourage equitable collaboration for all."

Webex is a leading provider of cloud-based collaboration solutions offering a variety of programs, devices and app integrations, supporting everything from one-on-one calls to large-scale webinars and events. Applause empowers Webex design and engineering resources to more easily include PWD in design, testing and UX research while avoiding staffing costs. With an end-to-end approach to digital accessibility, Applause frees up internal resources while helping the team account for digital accessibility throughout development – from planning and design through building, testing and release.

One of the key benefits of testing with an independent community as large as Applause’s is the range of diverse, global perspectives with access to numerous devices, operating systems and platform configurations to reflect Cisco’s broad user base. Applause can recruit testers with permanent disabilities, such as blindness, deafness or mobility or cognitive differences, as well as temporary disabilities from injury or illness and degenerative conditions.

“At Applause, we want to make sure apps, devices and experiences are not just functional and intuitive, but that they are also enjoyable and perform optimally for everyone, everywhere,” said Bob Farrell, Vice President, Solution Delivery and Accessibility, Applause. “Helping Cisco and its iconic Webex brand make good on its commitment to inclusivity has been incredibly rewarding. Our ability to engage experts and end users in our community who can provide highly relevant, actionable feedback drives comprehensive quality – and speed, with fewer and fewer bugs to address before launch. With a knowledge base and training to complement accessibility assessments, UX research and testing, we’ve been able to create a program that is thriving.”

Applause provides a fully managed suite of digital accessibility testing and training solutions, meeting organizations where they are on their accessibility journey and providing the inclusive design, UX expertise and testing coverage they need to conform to accessibility standards and optimize user experiences for everyone, everywhere. The company was recently recognized as a finalist in the 2024 North American Software Testing Awards’ Diversity & Inclusion category, and its Applause Accessibility & Usability Solutions were finalists for Best Testing Service/Tool in the 2024 DevOps Dozen Awards. Applause also released its 2024 State of Digital Quality report, which is based on the results of actual test cycles and surveys of software professionals and consumers, and helps organizations assess and advance their digital accessibility goals with insight into challenges, trends and an accessibility-specific digital quality framework.

Watch the video case study to learn more about the Webex by Cisco engagement with Applause.

About Applause

Applause is the world leader in digital quality – built by innovators, powered by people and dedicated to the comprehensive digital testing and feedback needs of our global enterprise customers. Our fully managed solutions harness a powerful combination of community-based testing and advanced technology to ensure organizations can move quickly to release apps, devices and experiences that are consistently functional, intuitive and inclusive in any market. Our experts steward customers through the entire testing process, from strategy through execution, at every stage of the software development lifecycle. And, we seamlessly supplement existing resources, providing actionable, real-time insights that drive customer retention and revenue. We’re proud to be an essential partner to the most innovative names in the digital economy, as we work together to ensure technology works for everyone, everywhere. Learn more at applause.com.

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