Mobile device strategy for your company - BYOD, CYOD or COPE?
With the increase in hybrid working, the need for mobile devices is growing so that employees can also work productively from home. Companies need a suitable mobile device strategy for this in order to provide all devices easily and integrate them securely into the existing infrastructure. When it comes to identifying the right strategy, you are quickly confronted with terms such as BYOD, CYOD, COPE and COBO. What is behind these abbreviations? And which strategy suits which company?
What do the terms mean?
Each of the abbreviations stands for a different approach to providing mobile devices such as laptops, smartphones or tablets for employees. The differences relate to questions of ownership and responsibilities for the devices.
The abbreviations themselves are quickly explained at first:
- BYOD – Bring your own device
- CYOD – Choose your own device
- COPE – Corporate Owned / Personally Enabled
- COBO – Corporate Owned / Business Only
However, the respective approaches differ in terms of 3 elements and related questions:
- The mobile device
- Which one is it?
- Who procures it?
- Who pays for the device or the mobile phone contract
- Management and maintenance
- Who manages the configuration of the device?
- Who takes care of repairs, maintenance and updates?
- Integration
- How extensively is the device integrated into the company structures?
What does Bring your own device (BYOD) mean?
Bring your own device is probably the best-known concept. With this approach, employees use their own, self-purchased mobile devices and also access the company network via these. Since it is their own technology, the employees themselves take care of the functioning of the devices.
- Since you are usually familiar with the functions and operation of your own mobile device, efficiency at work also increases.
- The option of using your own devices, such as your private smartphone, for work often leads to greater employee satisfaction and a positive perception of the company as a modern employer.
- Companies save time when evaluating and procuring mobile devices.
- Companies reduce the time and cost of repairing defective devices.
Disadvantages
- Due to the large number of different devices, the security risk and the number of potential security gaps also increase.
- Appropriate regulations and technical measures are required to ensure that private and professional data are strictly separated in accordance with data protection requirements.
- The use of private applications for professional purposes (and vice versa) can lead to licensing problems.
- When integrating numerous devices into the company's IT structure, compatibility problems can arise.
What does Choose your own device (CYOD) mean?
Choose your own device is an attempt to utilize the advantages of the BYOD approach without the associated disadvantages. The company provides employees with a list of possible devices. Employees choose a device from this list themselves. This reduces the number of different device models, thereby reducing potential compatibility problems and simplifying integration.
Advantages
- Since no more private devices are used for professional purposes, the security risk when accessing the company network potentially decreases.
- Companies themselves determine which devices can be selected. This simplifies IT administration when it comes to integration and maintenance.
- The ability to choose a suitable device yourself means that CYOD can serve as an incentive for employees.
- Since the devices can also be used privately, employees tend to take better care of the devices provided to them.
- Due to private use, employees tend to be more confident in handling the devices and consequently more productive.
Disadvantages
- Due to the choice, the number of different device types remains large, which leads to a higher demand for IT resources for support.
- If private use is permitted, a technical option is also required to strictly separate private and business data.
What does Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE) mean?
COPE is a more restrictive approach compared to CYOD. In this model, the company provides employees with a mobile device. The focus of use is on professional purposes, even if private use of smartphones, tablets or laptops is permitted. The weighting in the COPE model is clearly on the company's side. Accordingly, it is not only the owner and therefore responsible for procurement and payment, but also for administration and handling of repairs.
Advantages
- The company determines which devices are provided. If only a few models are provided in large numbers, simple & cost-effective procurement is possible.
- The small number of device models significantly simplifies integration and management.
- Since the devices can also be used privately, employees tend to take better care of the devices provided to them.
- Due to private use, employees tend to be more confident in handling the devices and consequently more productive.
- Providing high-quality premium devices also has positive effects on employer branding and perception as an employer.
Disadvantages
- As in all cases where devices are used simultaneously for private and professional purposes, private and professional data must also be strictly separated in the COPE model, which entails greater organizational and technical effort.
- The possibility of private use also increases security risks. Accordingly, the effort required for protection, administration and monitoring increases.
What does Corporate Owned, Business Only (COBO) mean?
Advantages
- The company has complete control over the devices and the applications used, thus ensuring maximum security.
- Similar to the COPE model, the significantly simpler procurement, administration, and support are also important advantages for companies in this model.
Disadvantages
- Since employees cannot use the devices for private purposes, but are only company devices, a less careful handling of the technology is to be feared.
- At the same time, the risk of devices being lost increases if colleagues always have to carry two devices with them. Accordingly, solutions are needed to secure data in the event of loss or theft.
Which strategy is suitable for which company?
When searching for the right strategy, you should first clarify your own requirements. Is the focus on employee satisfaction and maximum productivity? Or are data security and data protection the key factors? Subsequently, the advantages and disadvantages must be weighed against each other individually for your own company.
Operating system providers (especially Apple and Android) have now laid the foundations for secure integration of mobile devices. However, especially with Mobile Device Management solutions, companies today have a powerful tool at their disposal with which the majority of modern devices can be securely integrated into the IT infrastructure, and security settings can be adjusted and managed with just a few clicks. The separation of private and professional data, which is necessary for data protection reasons, is also easily possible via an MDM solution.
Conveniently implement mobile device strategy with Lendis
Lendis is your partner for implementing a suitable mobile strategy in your company. Lendis makes it easy for you to rent high-quality technology such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. With Lendis as a partner of top brands such as Apple and Lenovo, you can get top devices even faster and cheaper.
As part of our Device as a Service program, we also take care of the technical foundations for the secure integration and management of all mobile devices.
Learn more about Device as a Service here.
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