CIOs ignoring the mobile web

Companies are urged to optimise web sites for mobile visitors

Two-thirds of chief information officers (CIOs) are failing to embrace the mobile web by choosing not to optimise their sites for handhelds, according to research from web content management vendor e-Spirit released today.

Mobile web adoption rates are growing all the time, the research found. An IBM survey in October revealed that 10 per cent of respondents already access the internet from a mobile device at least once a day, and over two thirds expect to increase their use by at least 40 per cent in three years' time.

But just 35 per cent of CIOs questioned by e-Spirit said that they had optimised their web sites to provide a good online experience for mobile visitors.

"This figure was quite a surprise to me, because we see a growing number of mobile devices and people asking for optimised sites," said Robert Bredlau, director of international development at e-Spirit UK.

"On the one hand the mobile market is prepared, but businesses are behind in providing the right optimised sites."

Bredlau added that firms in retail, publishing and broadcasting must be especially conscious of how their sites are rendered on mobile devices, as these types of sites are generally most popular with mobile web users.