Lighthouse®, Opengear’s secure management software that provides reliable access to IT and network infrastructure, has reached an important milestone: achieving W3C WCAG 2.2 AA compliance. This recognition means Lighthouse now aligns with international best practices for accessibility, helping ensure our platform works for users of all abilities.
What is WCAG?
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are global standards developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) to make websites and applications usable for everyone, including those with visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor challenges.
WCAG also underpins many accessibility laws worldwide, from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S., to the European Accessibility Act, to Australia’s Disability Discrimination Act. By aligning Lighthouse with WCAG 2.2 AA, Opengear meets a global benchmark while also ensuring our technology remains usable, inclusive, and legally aligned across regions.
Why Accessibility Matters
In the U.S., about 1 in 4 people live with a disability. In Australia, it’s 1 in 5. Globally, more than 1 billion people experience some form of disability. These figures represent our families, friends, colleagues, and customers.
But inclusivity isn’t limited to disability. Accessibility also supports:
- Neurodiversity: reducing cognitive load with clear, consistent design.
- Stressful situations: enabling users to rely on Lighthouse during outages or high-pressure incidents.
- Everyday constraints: helping people working on small screens, in low light, or with limited connectivity.
- Global diversity: making Lighthouse approachable for those using English as a second language.
Designing for inclusivity means designing for reality, because real-world conditions are rarely ideal.
Why It Matters for Opengear
Accessibility compliance goes beyond a certificate. Achieving WCAG 2.2 AA demonstrates Opengear’s commitment to building technology that works for every user, in every situation.
It also demonstrates the maturity of our processes, from external audits to company-wide training and policies, that make accessibility a shared responsibility across Opengear.
How Lighthouse Evolved
One driver behind the new Lighthouse GUI, launched in June 2024, was to provide stronger, native support for accessibility. Every element of the updated interface was reviewed to:
- Ensure full keyboard accessibility
- Work seamlessly with assistive technologies like screen readers
- Improve text size, contrast, and navigation on smaller screens
Each enhancement was vetted against three principles: usability, accessibility, and inclusivity.
The Lighthouse team partnered across development, UX, and product management, and invested in accessibility training. We also engaged an independent nonprofit in South Australia for external audits. Their testing combined automated tools with manual validation by people with disabilities, ensuring improvements were meaningful in real-world use.
Accessibility has been part of Lighthouse’s journey since 2020, when it was first raised in a customer meeting. Since then, it has become a core part of how we design and deliver.
From Standards to Usability
For us, these guidelines are a baseline we continue to build on. We view WCAG as a commitment to:
- Clarity: helping users find information quickly.
- Consistency: reducing friction so users can act with confidence.
- Resilience: ensuring interfaces remain usable even when people are tired, distracted, or under pressure.
What supports one group often benefits many. For example:
- High-contrast text helps users with low vision, and also anyone working outdoors.
- Simple navigation supports users with ADHD, and also new users learning Lighthouse.
- Keyboard shortcuts assist users with mobility impairments, as well as power users.
- Responsive layouts support users with low vision, along with those working on small screens.
- Clear focus indicators help screen-reader users and multitaskers who are navigating quickly.
Our Ongoing Commitment
Achieving WCAG 2.2 AA is a milestone, but accessibility is not a one-time project. As technology evolves, so do the expectations and needs of users.
At Opengear, accessibility is woven into how we design, build, and test our products. It reflects both our responsibility to customers and our values as a company.
We’ve also recently joined the Centre for Accessibility Australia as part of their Friends of CFA program. This membership helps us strengthen our own practices while also supporting initiatives that promote digital inclusion and disability-led employment in the wider community.
Looking ahead, we are committed to:
- Twice-yearly external audits to validate Lighthouse against WCAG standards.
- Internal testing as part of our Definition of Done, supported by automated tools, accessibility-focused unit tests, and manual review.
- A formal accessibility policy defining roles, responsibilities, and issue tracking across teams.
By combining external validation with internal accountability, Lighthouse will continue to evolve with the needs of a diverse community of users. Accessibility is a journey, and we’re committed to moving forward with it.
For more information on how Opengear can enhance your network resilience, schedule a demo.
