HostBridge and Section 508

What is Section 508?

In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities, often referred to as "Section 508." Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.

How can HostBridge help?

Most CICS applications were designed to do one of two things: communicate with a 3270 "green screen" terminal (visual transactions) or communicate with other applications (non-visual transactions). Those applications that expect to interact with end-users at terminals do little to make themselves accessible to people with disabilities. The interfaces are text-based and generally accept only keyboard input, so people with visual or tactile disabilities may find these applications difficult, if not impossible to use. However, with decades of data and millions of dollars invested in these applications, companies cannot afford to simply abandon them.

HostBridge separates CICS presentation logic from the underlying data. By exposing CICS application data as XML documents, you can integrate applications with newer, more accessible interfaces. For example, employee benefits and financial data can be integrated into a single web portal that allows individuals immediate access to their accounts without having to logon on to and navigate using cryptic interfaces. The portal interfaces can be accessed by Assistive Technologies such as screen readers that can add audio to the visual interface or special pointing devices to make the interface more accessible to those with tactile disabilities.

By making legacy application data available as XML documents, HostBridge allows you to continue receiving the return on your investment in CICS while enabling you to meet compliance with Section 508 requirements.

If you are interested in learning more about how we can help you achieve Section 508 compliance, read our Voluntary Product Accessibility Template.