For many businesses, having a mobile-first strategy seems like a “must” – and it follows logically that businesses would have some kind of mobile presence.

However, in a new survey of more than 270 IT professionals in Canada, 54 per cent of CIOs said they don’t have a mobile app in place for their organizations – nor do they have any plans to build one, according to research from Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing company.

While 21 per cent of the companies surveyed said they do plan to offer a mobile app in the next 12 months, just 21 per cent said they already offer one. Four per cent of the respondents said they didn’t know if they had a mobile app, or they refused to answer the question.

That being said, 77 per cent of the firms surveyed said they do have a mobile strategy, with 61 per cent saying they use a mix of apps and mobile-optimized web pages to do business. However, 19 per cent said they don’t have any mobile strategy at all.

“As mobile devices increasingly become a part of day-to-day life, businesses will want to make it easy for customers and clients to connect with them through mobile platforms. In the next few years, this will likely become more of an expectation from consumers for doing business, and less of an option,” said Deborah Bottineau, senior regional manager of Robert Half Technology, in a statement.

“While most organizations have a mobile technology strategy, many are not making the leap over to the use of mobile apps as a means to connect with customers and clients … Organizations that aren’t looking to develop mobile applications are potentially missing out on the opportunity to further engage with their business audience.”

Beyond a mobile strategy, Canadian businesses may also be lagging in other areas. Earlier this month, the  Canadian Internet Registration Authority released a study showing just 45.5 per cent of Canadian businesses had their own websites, even though half of Canadian consumers have gone online to buy a good or service.