What is COPE?
COPE (Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled) is a mobile device management model that balances the organization's need for control and security with the employee's desire for flexibility and personal use. In a COPE deployment, the organization owns the mobile devices, but allows employees to install personal applications and use the device for some personal communication within defined boundaries.
How COPE Works
In a COPE environment, the organization purchases and owns the mobile devices, but grants employees limited personal use of the devices. This gives the IT department full administrative control over the hardware and the ability to enforce strict security policies, while still providing some flexibility for employees to customize and use the device for personal purposes.
The key aspects of the COPE model include:
- Device Ownership: The organization owns the physical mobile devices, which are provided to employees for business use.
- Personal Use: Employees are allowed to install some personal applications and use the device for limited personal communication, such as making personal phone calls or sending personal text messages.
- Security Policies: The organization can enforce strong security policies, such as passcode requirements, data encryption, and remote wiping capabilities.
- Management Control: IT administrators maintain full control over device configurations, application deployments, and policy enforcement, even for the personal use aspects of the device.
Benefits of COPE
The COPE model aims to provide the benefits of both corporate-owned and BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) approaches, including:
- Enhanced Security: The organization maintains complete control over the device hardware and can enforce robust security policies to protect corporate data.
- Improved User Satisfaction: Employees have some flexibility to use the device for personal tasks, which can increase adoption and productivity.
- Simplified Management: IT can standardize device configurations and deployment, simplifying support and maintenance.
- Cost Savings: The organization only needs to purchase and maintain a single set of devices, rather than reimbursing employees for personal device usage.
Considerations for COPE
While the COPE model offers advantages, there are also some important considerations to keep in mind:
- Privacy Concerns: Employees may be hesitant to use their personal applications and data on a device owned by the organization, even with defined boundaries.
- Support Complexity: IT must still manage a diverse set of mobile devices and operating systems, even if the hardware is standardized.
- Data Separation: Clearly separating corporate and personal data on the device can be challenging, and data leakage risks must be carefully managed.
- Compliance Requirements: Ensuring the organization meets regulatory requirements for data protection and privacy may be more complex with COPE than a fully corporate-owned model.
Real-World Example
A large retail organization decides to implement a COPE model for their field sales team. They purchase a fleet of standardized smartphone devices and provide them to employees, allowing them to install some personal apps and use the device for limited personal calls and messaging. The IT department configures the devices with strong security policies, including device encryption, passcode requirements, and remote wipe capabilities. While employees have some flexibility to personalize the device, the organization maintains full control over corporate data, applications, and configurations, ensuring the devices remain secure and compliant.