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6 Business perspective

An issue that seems to be underrated and underresearched is the business perspective of

computer use of the elderly. This issue, however, can be of curcial importance in getting a

wider audience to see the importance of the topic, as economic profitability could be a major

reason for IT companies to steer technology in a direction that provides access to computing

for those with disabilities and the elderly [25, Section 1.2].

What has to be said first is that discussing the economic aspects of elderly people and

computer use will most likely become a necessity. This is due to the following reasons:

- The increasing percentage of elderly people in most countries [1, 2].

- The increasing number of disabilities related to a longer lifespan.

- The fact that elderly people are the largest user group within the public health and care

services.

The combination of these factors means that the society will need to find ways to cope with

the growing number of elderly and the increasing reliance on related services.

Compared to the attention given to for example cognitive aspects, only a small amount of

articles has been written on the economic possibilities of designing for elderly and the use of

computer technology by the elderly. Remarkably, one of the oldest articles on computer

technology and elderly users (identified in [26]), dated 1973, includes a statement that is still

relevant today [27]: “The powerless and helpless feeling of the aged is due not only to

increasing infirmity but to society’s failure to set up institutions and systems that would make

it possible for the elderly to overcome the handicaps they have. [The] benefits to society as a

whole would be enormous as there is no greater cost in our society than the cost of personal

service. An elderly person with a maximum amount of ability to care for himself/herself

would save society huge sums of money. The costs of institutionalization are already

exorbitant and this will not change. Technological innovations in these areas will help the

senior members of society to continue as viable participants in its processes.” This addresses

the third reason stated above.

Another important fact is that technologies that are developed for special markets, such as for

elderly people, often prove to be beneficial for other market-segments as well [2]. Speech

recognition, for example, can be used to aid elderly people with movement disabilities to use

a computer, but it can also be used by people that have to take notes and work with their

hands simultaniously, such as surgeons. Jani et al. [28] even show that making business

software more accessible for peope with disabilities can be beneficial for non-disabled and

even non-disabled expert users.The size of the market for any assistive technology is therefore

not confined to those with disabilities [25, Section 1.2].

Given the ongoing decrease in costs in the computer technology industry, it should allow

affordable solutions in this area [25, Section 1.2]. So it can be claimed that entering this

market in a free enterprise environment will be rewarding, not only ethically, but also

economically.