Corporate-owned, personally enabled (COPE) is a mobile device policy in which the company buys, owns and manages phones, tablets or laptops but allows employees to use them for personal purposes as well. It sits between bring your own device (BYOD), where employees use their own devices for work, and corporate-owned, business only (COBO), where company devices are locked to work use. Under COPE, IT typically manages the device itself and keeps work apps and data in a managed space, while employees can install personal apps within the limits the policy sets. COPE devices are usually paired with corporate-liable lines.
At a glance
- The company owns and pays for the device; the employee may use it personally within policy limits.
- IT enrolls the device in a management platform from day one and can typically wipe it at offboarding.
- Modern Android and Apple management features can separate work and personal data on the same device.
- COPE costs more than BYOD in hardware and lines, but gives the company more control.
- It is one of several ownership models, alongside BYOD, COBO and choose your own device (CYOD).
What problem it solves
BYOD saves on hardware but can be awkward to secure. Employees may resist installing management software on their own phones, devices vary widely in model and age, and when someone leaves, the company has limited ability to recover its data. COBO devices solve the control problem but frustrate employees, who end up carrying two phones or using personal phones for work anyway.
COPE gives the company a standard, fully managed device and the right to wipe it, while letting employees use one phone for both work and personal life. That balance is often easier to sell to staff than a locked-down device and easier to secure than BYOD.
How it works
Procurement. The company chooses approved models, buys or leases them, and assigns them, usually with a corporate-liable line.
Enrollment. Devices are enrolled in mobile device management (MDM) or unified endpoint management before or at handover, often through the device makers’ zero-touch or automated enrollment programs, so management can’t easily be removed.
Separation. Depending on the platform, the device has a managed work area alongside a personal area. IT controls work apps, settings and data, and policy sets what is allowed in the personal space. What IT can see in the personal space depends on the platform and configuration.
Lifecycle. IT handles updates, replacements and repairs. At offboarding, the device is recovered and wiped, and the number stays with the company or is ported out according to policy.
To compare device management options, see our unified endpoint management solution page.
When it matters for buyers
- Writing or updating a mobile policy. Decide which roles get COPE devices and which use BYOD or stipends.
- Regulated or sensitive data. Companies handling customer, health or financial data often prefer company-owned devices they can fully manage.
- Frontline and field staff. Standard devices simplify support and make it easier to provision apps at scale.
- Device refresh. Moving from BYOD or stipends to COPE changes hardware, line and management costs, so model the full cost first.
Questions to ask vendors
- Which enrollment programs and work/personal separation modes does your management platform support on our device types?
- What can administrators see and do in the personal area, and how is that shown to employees?
- How do device lease or financing terms work, and what happens to balances if we return devices early?
- Can we set different policies for different roles or regions?
- How are lost or stolen devices handled, and how quickly can they be locked or wiped?
- What reporting do we get on device compliance and update status?
How it differs from BYOD
Under BYOD, the employee owns the device and usually the phone line, and the company manages only a work area or work apps on it, often with limited ability to wipe the whole device. Under COPE, the company owns the device, typically pays for the line and can manage and wipe the whole device, while still allowing personal use. BYOD costs the company less in hardware; COPE gives more control and consistency. Many companies use both, matching the model to the role and the sensitivity of the data.