Texas EDS and SSB Technologies today announced they will jointly offer EDS IT services and SSB software supporting the federal government's effort to help disabled citizens access its Web-based information and services.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998, in effect since June 21, 2001, imposes new accessibility standards on all federal government procurements of electronic and information technology. Set forth by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board), the new standards are designed to provide equal access to technologies for disabled government workers and disabled citizens who use government Web sites.

Under terms of the agreement, EDS will combine its world-class IT integration services with SSB Technologies' leading software to help Federal agencies migrate to Section 508 compliancy. The SSB tools, InSight and InFocus, enable developers to save up to 90 percent of the time required to meet compliance by enabling them to automatically incorporate accessibility enhancements into Web pages.

"Working with SSB Technologies, EDS is well-positioned to enable our Federal Government clients to make e-government services available to all citizens, regardless of their disability," said Al Edmonds, president, EDS Federal.

According to the Access Board, the new compliance standards mandated under Section 508 could cost an estimated $1 billion per year in modifications to all types of electronic and information technology. Technologies covered include software applications and operating systems; Web-based applications and information; telecommunications products, video and multimedia products; desktop and portable computers, and other IT services provided by the federal government.

"This agreement enables military and civilian organizations to take advantage of the software at a substantial discount and obtain EDS services to help make their Web sites, intranets and Web-enabled applications accessible to people with disabilities," said Marco Sorani, president of SSB Technologies.

The new InFocus 4.0 release, which includes free technical support and upgrades, incorporates substantial functionality extensions including universal fixing across pages, increased reporting capabilities, seamless handling of tables and forms, expanded help functionality and the ability to reduce 'false positive' violations.

EDS and SSB also will co-brand a Computer Based Training (CBT) course on Section 508 and the SSB tools.

EDS, a leading global services company, provides strategy, implementation and hosting for clients managing the business and technology complexities of the digital economy. EDS brings together the world's best technologies to address critical client business imperatives. It helps clients eliminate boundaries, collaborate in new ways, establish their customers' trust and continuously seek improvement. EDS, with its management consulting subsidiary, A.T. Kearney, serves the world's leading companies and governments in 55 countries. EDS reported revenues of $19.2 billion in 2000. The company's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: EDS) and the London Stock Exchange.

SSB Technologies is the premier provider of web-related Section 508 compliance solutions. On June 12, 2001, SSB Technologies announced that the U.S. Department of the Navy has established a Blanket Purchase Agreement that allows the entire Department of Defense to purchase version 4.0 of its flagship Section 508 web compliance tools, InSight and InFocus.