Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE)
What is Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled (COPE)?
Corporate-Owned, Personally Enabled, or COPE, is a device management model in which the organization owns and manages the device but allows the employee to use it for limited personal activities.
Examples
- A company issues smartphones to employees, manages them with security controls, and still allows personal calls, messaging, and approved apps.
- An organization provides laptops for remote staff, keeps full control over security settings, and permits moderate personal use outside work hours.
Discover 🔎
Organizations often struggle to balance two competing needs. On one side, they want strong security, clear ownership, and reliable device management. On the other side, they want users to have practical, convenient tools that fit into everyday life. COPE sits in the middle of that balance.
Instead of letting employees use fully personal devices, as in BYOD, the organization provides the hardware itself. That gives the business much more control over security settings, software, and support. At the same time, the device is not treated as a locked-down tool with no personal flexibility at all. The user is usually allowed some personal use, which makes the model easier to live with in real working environments.
Summary 📝
COPE is a device strategy that gives the organization ownership and management control while still allowing limited personal use by employees. Its main benefit is stronger security and support consistency than BYOD, without requiring a strictly work-only experience. The model works best when ownership, monitoring, personal use, and access boundaries are all clearly defined.
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