This is where MAM comes in. MAM, in contrast to MDM, enables enterprises to avoid device-level management and instead implement application-level management on user-owned devices. As a result, MAM completely negates the issues listed above that are associated with fully managing user-owned devices via MDM. At the same time it also addresses considerations two and three above just as well, if not better, than MDM.

It does this by allowing enterprises to "wrap" each of their corporate apps and the data tied to them in their own security and management layers. This gives enterprises complete control of their apps and data while leaving the rest of the user-owned devices they are on and also users' experiences with those devices untouched.

In other words, with MAM controls such as authentication, encryption and expiration -- apps and data can be manually expired or set to automatically remove themselves from devices based on perimeters established by administrators -- can all be applied to corporate apps and other resources on otherwise unmanaged, user-owned devices.

In addition, superior MAM solutions provide app portals that are tailored to each user to deliver the appropriate corporate apps to individual user-owned devices. In this way, the user experience of downloading necessary corporate resources is as simple and streamlined as visiting a public app store, but enterprises can ensure that users are only being given access to the resources they have permission to download.

Remember when air bags did not exist? Now it is hard to imagine driving a car without the safety and protection they offer. At the same time, the safety mechanisms of an airbag-equipped car are built in without ever impeding the productive use of the car itself, versus a car that has no airbags and is thus more risky to use. Likewise, implementing BYOD without the proper tools is also perilous. However, with the proper tools -- MAM being first and foremost -- the secure use of user-owned mobile devices in enterprises without hindering users' experiences with those devices can be a reality.