Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is becoming more and more popular, but there are definitely advantages to corporate owned devices. The goal of COPE is to provide the same sort of user experience, while maintaining more control over the devices and thus keeping them more secure. This article from Adam Ely attempts to analyze the differences between the two very different approaches and evaluate how COPE stacks up to BYOD.
http://www.securityweek.com/enterprise-mobility-cope-vs-byod