19 December 2024

Looking Ahead: A2i’s Vision for the Future

Our Director, Susie Fisher, tells us about her vision for the company’s future, and how she plans to continue innovating and growing over the next 25 years.

25 years of A2i

As we come to the end of 2024 and I look back over a year of celebrations and 25 years in business, it’s an interesting time to think ahead to what’s next.

How does a business continue being relevant after 25 years? And how are alternative formats going to change over the next 25 years? Will they even still be needed?

Will transcription continue to be needed?

My fundamental answer to this question is yes. I think there could be many unexpected advances, but advances can also bring new challenges, and I think our expertise will always be needed.

Technology has always played a big part in our sector and specifically on the formats we deliver. In the past 25 years, we have witnessed:

• a significant shift from primarily print accessible formats to digital ones
• the introduction of screen reader devices which enable blind people to read what is displayed on screen through e-text
• videos and audio become central to the way people access and engage with information.

A number of years ago there was talk about Braille no longer being necessary because of technological advances, but when the teaching of Braille was reduced, it quickly became apparent that the result was a drop in literacy that had far-reaching detrimental consequences. Braille teaching was quickly re-instated and given the importance it needed. This story offers a lesson for us, and I think there will always be a need for transcription in some form.

How might the industry evolve?

I’d love to say that alternative formats won’t be needed because everyone will make their information universally inclusive automatically at point of origin, but I just don’t see that happening all over the world, in all sectors, in the next 25 years. Maybe I’m wrong and I’ll be pleasantly surprised! But one thing that I am sure of is that there will be many changes to technology and regulations that will inevitably affect the demand for and the type of format information is delivered in.

As everything evolves, our job will be to adapt and to help other businesses get it right. We will also keep innovating and changing to make information better for people with disabilities. And we can keep working with various sectors and countries to make improvements.

What will A2i be focussing on?

We want to make the most of the technological advances brought by AI. With the utmost of caution, we hope we will be able to find ways of using AI together with human oversight to make improvements in processes, and this is something we will definitely be working on in the next few years.

We will of course continue to serve our customers the best way we can and build on the amazing relationships we have with them. Ensuring our clients remain happy with the quality of our services is key to us, so we will be investing in training our team and looking at continuously improving our quality processes.

We think it’s essential we continue to talk to end users through our various user groups and make sure we’re going in the right direction and meeting the communication requirements of the people who need it.  One offering we’re particularly excited about is the development of our Easy Read Review Group.

It’s great to work closely with people with learning disabilities who review our documents and feedback on best practice. We are looking forward to growing our group and the influence it can have, improving documentation for more people.

Our vision of being able to influence and enable others to improve accessibility is still valid and appropriate. We hope we can improve equality of access to information, not just through our range of formats, but through encouraging implementation of accessibility features at point of origin.

So I guess it’s more of the same – but in new ways! It’s never boring at A2i and I look forward to seeing where the journey takes us next. 

If you have any queries about accessible formats or A2i’s services please get in touch.

You can send us an email: info@a2i.co.uk

fill out our online form

or call our telephone: 01179 44 00 44

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