Rolling out new and exciting device management capabilities for Android has been at the forefront of what we do ever since our inception. A testimony to that commitment was realized recently when we joined the Android Enterprise Partner Program as a Silver Partner.
Today, we are excited to turn a new leaf into Android device management by introducing support for COPE/WPCO devices.
Why COPE/WPCO is more than BYOD
Over the last few years, Android has been making regular amendments to the device management ecosystem as a whole, considering the evolving needs of businesses and, more importantly, its employees. In an era driven by flexibility, businesses are striving hard to create work infrastructures that help employees stay productive and satisfied. This is where BYOD came into the picture.
With BYOD enrollment, IT admins can segregate work and personal apps on managed employee devices into separate containers. The separation ensures that IT admins have complete control only over the work container while the personal container remains private to the employees.
And while BYOD is great, it might not be the right fit for several organizations. Especially for knowledge workers, organizations must offer flexibility with devices used while also ensuring that the corporate data on those devices is secured.
The best of both worlds: COPE/WPCO
Since the rollout of Android 9, Google ushered in the middle ground, so to speak—the corporate-owned, personally enabled device management mode, which enables organizations to exercise robust security over their data and apps while also providing employees with much-needed flexibility while using the devices.
Ever since, COPE has been the preferred deployment for organizations that want control over the work profile (as a device owner/DO) while offering employees the experience of using a personal device.
With Android 11, the focus on transforming the COPE use cases has been strong. Fresh out of the ‘completely remote’ to ‘hybrid may be the future era’, Android deprecated the original COPE in 2020 and re-introduced it as WPCO, which is Work Profile on Corporate Owned devices. This was done to emphasize employee privacy without letting loose on corporate data security.
The devices are initially configured as fully managed devices, adhering to all policies and visibility settings defined at the device level. Subsequently, a work profile is applied over, providing a separate space to store work-related apps and data. Meanwhile, the parent profile is designated for personal use, maintaining a distinction between personal and work-related tasks. So while organizations might have reduced visibility, policies can be applied to enhance the security of the work layer/container.
COPE/WPCO Management mode with Scalefusion
We are thrilled to offer support for WPCO/COPE devices on Scalefusion, enabling organizations to seamlessly manage hybrid work scenarios and enhance management capabilities for knowledge workers’ devices. This new feature release propels us forward in our commitment to delivering cutting-edge Android device management solutions.
With Scalefusion, IT admins can now:
- Enroll Android devices into COPE
- Configure apps and security settings on the work container
- Configure device usage schedule, defining timelines as to when the device is available for personal use
- Configure the maximum number of days off from work
At Scalefusion, our focus is always on our customers and their adoption of our feature releases. We continuously strive to enhance the usability of our offerings and value feedback and suggestions from our customers. We are excited for you to experience COPE/WPCO management by Scalefusion and see how it can benefit your organization. We encourage you to share your valuable input by contacting us at support [at] scalefusion [.] com.
