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REDMOND, Wash and ARLINGTON, Va – Dec. 17, 2015 – Microsoft Corp. and the American Council of the Blind (ACB) on Thursday announced they will partner on efforts to advance the accessibility of information technologies. Through the partnership, the ACB and Microsoft will work together to enable planned updates to various Microsoft products to better meet the needs of persons with visual impairments.

“To deliver great solutions for people with disabilities, accessibility must be central to our culture and an integral part of how we design and build Microsoft products,” said Rob Sinclair, chief accessibility officer at Microsoft. “By working with the ACB, we will gain valuable user insights about our experiences. This will help us deliver more powerful assistive technology as well as more inclusive and empowering experiences to help every person on the planet achieve more.”

The partnership will provide a more consistent flow of information and dialogue between Microsoft and the ACB. It better enables Microsoft to deliver on its mission of empowering every person on the planet to do more, and responds to customer requests. The response from those involved about the renewed partnership and future work has been incredibly positive.

“Having access to information through accessible technology is critical for our members as they pursue education, employment and perform everyday tasks,” said Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the ACB. “We are pleased to build on the previous engagements we’ve had with Microsoft, and we look forward to working more closely with the teams to review and test new features and upgrades. We encourage interested parties to follow the progress of these efforts at ACB.org.”