Most organizations recognize the importance of accessibility. But when it comes to scaling it across an enterprise, many struggle. At the recent Accessibility.com Virtual Event, Jeff Mills, Co-CEO of GrackleDocs, shared lessons from those working to make accessibility a standard practice rather than an afterthought.
With millions of legacy documents, competing business priorities, and limited in-house expertise, accessibility often feels like an overwhelming challenge. However, companies that get it right reduce legal risk, improve user experience, and gain a significant competitive advantage. The key is to shift from a reactive, compliance-driven mindset to a proactive approach that embeds accessibility into everyday workflows.
Why Accessibility Needs to Be a Priority
There are 1.3 billion people worldwide who rely on accessible digital experiences. That’s not a niche audience—it’s a substantial portion of the population. When considering the broader impact, including family and friends of people with disabilities, accessibility affects a market with a staggering $13 trillion in disposable income. Yet, many still see accessibility as something to address later, often only when a lawsuit or compliance deadline forces action.
Accessibility competes with many other business priorities, from security and AI adoption to digital transformation initiatives. Without leadership support and a clear strategy, it remains on the back burner. However, companies that delay accessibility efforts often face more significant challenges: remediation costs, legal issues, and reputational damage. The leaders who succeed take a structured approach, ensuring that accessibility is not an afterthought but a fundamental part of their digital presence.
What’s Stopping Enterprises from Scaling Accessibility?
For many large enterprises, accessibility isn’t just about updating a few key documents or making a website compliant. It’s about managing accessibility across thousands, sometimes millions, of pieces of content. Without a clear strategy, accessibility efforts become reactive and inconsistent.
One of the biggest roadblocks is the sheer volume of legacy content. Many enterprises have vast document repositories created before accessibility was a priority. Manually remediating these files is impossible at scale, yet ignoring them presents a legal and reputational risk.
Another challenge is the lack of internal expertise. Many organizations do not have dedicated accessibility teams, and responsibility is often fragmented across departments. Without clear ownership, accessibility efforts stall.
Workflows also present a problem. When accessibility is addressed only at the final review stage, it leads to unnecessary rework. A lack of training means teams often create new content that isn’t accessible, adding to the backlog of issues. With lawsuits on the rise, those who take a wait-and-see approach risk significant financial penalties.
A Scalable Approach to Enterprise Accessibility
Organizations that successfully scale accessibility take a structured, four-step approach.
First, they start with an accessibility maturity assessment. Many companies don’t know how accessible they are, making identifying the most significant risks and opportunities challenging. A structured assessment helps pinpoint compliance gaps, process inefficiencies, and training needs.
Second, they prioritize the right content. Not every document needs immediate remediation. The focus should be on public-facing content, compliance-critical documents, and frequently used internal materials. By tackling high-risk files first, organizations can make meaningful progress without becoming overwhelmed.
Third, they strike the right balance between automation and human expertise. Automated tools are essential for bulk remediation, helping enterprises quickly address large volumes of content. However, automation alone is not enough—critical documents require manual review to ensure usability. Companies that blend both approaches scale their efforts without sacrificing quality.
Finally, they embed accessibility into daily operations. Fixing past content is important, but so is preventing future accessibility issues. This means integrating accessibility into content creation workflows, providing ongoing training, and conducting regular audits. Companies that treat accessibility as a continuous process, rather than a one-time fix, achieve long-term success.
Lessons from Real Enterprises
At the event, Jeff Mills shared case studies from organizations working through accessibility challenges. One large financial institution, for example, struggled with over 50,000 inaccessible documents, making compliance a significant concern. By combining automated tools with targeted manual remediation, they could scale their efforts efficiently.
A multinational healthcare provider faced a different challenge—ensuring accessibility compliance across multiple countries with varying legal requirements. Instead of tackling accessibility in silos, they developed a centralized accessibility framework that standardized compliance across regions.
Accessibility issues led to customer complaints and legal risks for a global e-commerce brand. The brand took a systematic approach to prevent future problems, starting with an audit to identify the most pressing gaps. From there, it remediated high-priority content and integrated accessibility checks into its content creation workflow.
These examples highlight a key lesson: fixing one document is easy. Scaling accessibility requires a structured strategy, leadership support, and the right combination of technology and expertise.
Beyond Compliance: The Business Case for Accessibility
Many companies approach accessibility with a compliance-first mindset, focusing solely on avoiding legal trouble. While compliance is essential, this approach is short-sighted. Treating accessibility as a box to check leads to last-minute scrambles, reactive fixes, and higher costs.
The leaders who see long-term success view accessibility as a business opportunity. Embedding accessibility into product development improves usability for all users, not just those with disabilities. It enhances brand reputation and expands market reach. As technology continues to evolve, companies prioritizing accessibility future-proof their digital presence.
The key is to move beyond minimum compliance and create inclusive experiences that benefit all users. This requires leadership commitment, cross-functional collaboration, and a shift in mindset from short-term fixes to long-term investment.
Preparing for 2025’s Legal Deadlines
Regulatory changes are adding urgency to accessibility efforts. By 2025, significant deadlines will take effect in multiple regions.
In the European Union, consumer-facing content must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA by June 2025. In Canada, both public and private entities must meet accessibility requirements under AODA and ACA. In the United States, ADA Title II mandates full compliance by April 2025 for large organizations and April 2027 for smaller ones.
These deadlines are not distant. Organizations that have yet to start their accessibility journeys must act now to avoid last-minute compliance challenges.
How GrackleDocs Helps Enterprises Scale Accessibility
Scaling accessibility is complex, but the right tools and expertise make it manageable. GrackleDocs helps enterprises integrate accessibility efficiently by providing AI-powered software, expert consulting, and professional remediation services.
Solutions like Grackle PDF, Grackle Workspace, and Grackle Scan automate accessibility at scale, while hands-on training and strategic consulting ensure accessibility is embedded into workflows. For enterprises facing large-scale remediation challenges, GrackleDocs offers a mix of automation and manual expertise to keep efforts cost-effective and sustainable.
Final Thoughts
Scaling accessibility is not just about meeting legal requirements—it’s about creating digital experiences that work for everyone. Enterprises that take a structured approach, blending automation with human expertise, achieve better outcomes while reducing long-term costs and risks.
Organizations that integrate accessibility into workflows, rather than treating it as a last-minute fix, gain a competitive advantage. With 2025 legal deadlines fast approaching, now is the time to take action.
For enterprises looking to scale accessibility efficiently, GrackleDocs provides the tools, training, and expertise needed to make it happen. Submit an enquiry today for a free, no obligation consultation.
