Mobile applications are becoming a "need to have" solution.

While that may be a bit of a blunt way to say it, there are a number of people in the corporate landscape that would react similarly if you were to tell them that your business does not have a mobile application. When you consider how popular mobile devices have become for consumers and businesses alike, this kind of reaction is not totally unjustified.

A recent report from ComputerWorld's research group surveyed 313 IT and business professions found that 74 percent of businesses have been able to optimize their ROI from the use of mobile. On top of that, 40 percent of respondents said mobile is the top competitive advantage when it comes to technologies in the marketplace.

So that raises the question, why are so many companies still hesitant to get on the mobile application development bandwagon? We have entered a mobile world, so why are some companies not joining?

The first thing to point out is that this is not as easy as it sounds. Deciding to create a mobile application and actually having one that is functional are two very different things.

A report from IT staffing firm Robert Half Technology examined the mobile application landscape by surveying 2,300 CIOs from companies with more than 100 employees. The study found that 28 percent of companies are without any kind of mobile strategy. While 70 percent are on board, 56 percent are using a "hodge-podge" of website tweaks and mobile apps, instead of a true, focused mobile application.

The results get worse. Nearly 66 percent of companies have not developed a single mobile application for either customers or clients and they have no plans to start creating one at any time in the next 12 months. Meanwhile, 22 percent said they don't have one yet but they do plan to have one created by 2015.

"To maintain competitive advantage, sectors such as business services and retail need to connect with customers anytime, anywhere, so it's logical to see them leading the charge in implementing mobile strategies," says Robert Half Technology Senior Executive Director John Reed. "Compliance issues have made it difficult for the health care industry to move as quickly as other sectors, but as consumer demand for mobile health information grows, formal mobile strategies are a necessary next step."

Reed added that because mobile device use continues to expand, businesses will need to make it easy for customers and clients to connect and an application is a great way to accomplish that. This is going to change mobile apps from a "nice to have" solution to a "need to have" solution.

All evidence points to Reed being correct. Goldman Sachs found that between 2012 and 2014, mobile commerce tripled. By 2018, the company predicts that mobile commerce will reach $626 billion.

For most companies, the reason they do not create a mobile app is not an issue of want or desire, but rather one of capability. With the help of a mobile application development firm, any company will be able to gain a hand in designing a quality mobile application that they will be proud of.