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Title:

Document accessibility: key differentiator of Microsoft Office for

Windows vs Google Docs
Date: April 02, 2014

Background:
At Microsoft, our commitment to developing innovative accessibility solutions
started more than two decades ago. Our longstanding commitment to accessibility
research, awareness-building, innovation, and collaboration reflects our evolution as
a global leader. Accessibility is a fundamental consideration during product design,
development, and testing.
Document accessibility refers to the ability of users, including users with disabilities,
to create, edit and consume electronic documents, such as spreadsheets,
presentations, and word processing documents. In educational, public, and private
institutions, providing accessible documents is every bit as important as making a
facility physically accessible. Institutions that fail to do so are at risk of legal
ramifications. For example, a student with visual impairment filed a discrimination
suit against Miami University for failure to provide accessible course material. Part
of the complaint was about the use of Google Apps.
Microsoft Office for Windows includes key accessibility features that enable users to
create accessible content, and minimize the barriers to individuals with disabilities
to share and collaborate on documents. These features differentiate Microsoft
Office on Windows from Google Docs/Sheets/Slides. For document accessibility,
customers often have referenced Office as a better choice compared to Google
Apps. This short deck includes references to some examples.

Why is Document Accessibility important?

Organizations in several regions worldwide have regulatory requirements that
prohibit discrimination against their constituents based on disability. The document
accessibility capabilities in Office help to address these customers needs. The
purpose of this communique is twofold: a) Highlight differentiated features of
document accessibility in Microsoft Office on Windows vs Google Apps b) Provide
guidance to influence sales conversations

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How does Microsoft Office compare to Google?

The Microsoft Office rich client running on Windows offers the most comprehensive
set of capabilities around document accessibility. Office Online supports a subset of
document accessibility capabilities. In the context of document accessibility, always
lead with Microsoft Office running on Windows.
Here are the key document accessibility gaps in Google Docs as compared to Office:

Content with graphics, charts, tables and multiple languages are inaccessible for

visually impaired users

Importing accessible document into Google Drive causes them to lose

accessibility properties
Google Docs does not support exporting accessible content

Here is a short deck to summarize the differences.

What can you do?

As the trusted partner for our customers, we should advise that considering
accessibility in technology evaluation is both ethical and a prudent business
practice. In the context of document accessibility, lead with Microsoft Office rich
client and understand how it compares to Google Apps.
Account teams managing Public Sector customers including Education Proactively discuss document accessibility with your customer. Influence the RFP
process to include document accessibility as a high-priority evaluation criterion.

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Account teams for other segments - Position document accessibility proactively.

While the government has an additional legal mandate to use accessible
information technology, private entities must still provide reasonable
accommodations to people with disabilities.

Questions:

Frequently Asked

Q: How do I introduce the importance of document accessibility with my

customer?
A: As the trusted partner, it is appropriate to ask customer how they are addressing
document accessibility in their environment. Also, find out who in the organization
cares about accessible technologies and get them involved in the evaluation and
decision-making process.
US public sector customers will have a Section 508 coordinator that you should get
to know. If the customer does not have a person in charge of addressing
accessibility, engage with the customers legal counsel, human resources or
disabilities service department. Providing an accessible computing environment is
just as important as making a facility physically accessible.
Q: Should I proactively discuss the lawsuit with my customer?
As a general rule of thumb, lawsuits on this topic may not be discussed with
customers. In instances, where there is an existing managed account relationship
with the customer, this topic can be referenced as such. The lawsuit should not be
referred to in a broad marketing campaign.
A:

Q: My customer wants to know more about creating accessible documents.

Where do they get more information about that?
A: We provide instructional content to our users about document accessibility
online.
Q: Do you have any other information about Office or O365 accessibility?
A: Customers can download Office 2013 accessibility fact sheet or Office 365
accessibility fact sheet.
Q: What are the realities of the accessibility of Office versus Google?
A: Microsoft products are not perfectly accessible to all people in all situations. No
product is. But we have been working for decades on products like Microsoft Office
client for Windows to achieve the highest level of accessibility among productivity

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suites. Please note that Office Online offers a limited set of document accessibility
capabilities, so always lead with Microsoft Office rich client in sales discussions.
The state of technology accessibility is that users with visual impairments cannot
fully utilize any web-based or mobile productivity suite in the market today. The
desktop environment is the only productive pathway for users with visual
impairments. Microsoft Office for Windows is by far the most accessible option in
the desktop environment.
When comparing Google against O365, we should position Office rich client
applications as the optimal interface for users with disabilities while users without
disabilities can use the web and mobile clients. Beyond the basics, we have
advanced accessibility features like the accessibility checker to help end users
create accessible content within Office.
Googles web-only user interface has limitations that desktop clients do not have.
On the rich client, we have the benefit of work we have done specifically in Office as
well as in the Windows operating system to help make our products more
accessible.
Q: Where do I find out more about Googles Accessibility Policies?
A: Google publishes their philosophy around accessibility and capabilities on their
website.
Q: What resources can we provide to customers on our commitment to
accessibility?
A: Point your customers to the Microsoft accessibility website as a central hub for
information and news on our commitment to making accessible technologies. The
website allows customers to sign up for a newsletter to stay regularly updated on
accessibility at Microsoft.
Q: Do we have resources specifically for education on accessibility?
A: We have two great resources focused on education. i) Education focused website
and ii) Downloadable guide for educators
Q: I have a customer who is creating an RFP and is looking for help on
language regarding document accessibility. Is there pre-existing language
that I can provide?
A: We have preferred RFP language and responses based on your region. Please
contact your local LCA to seek guidance on this.
Q: Where do I go if I have additional questions?

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A: Please join Google Apps Compete Accessibility Yammer Group for additional
questions on document accessibility.

Next Steps
I) Learn about document accessibility features in Office in this training video
II) Account teams proactively discuss document accessibility with customers and
Influence RFPs to include accessibility as a high-priority evaluation criterion.

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