Growth in “corporate liable” smartphones will outpace personal device growth worldwide in the next five years, as “many companies struggle with developing comprehensive BYOD policies and strategies”, according to Strategy Analytics.

According to the company, global business smartphone sales will grow from 392 million in 2015 to 606 million in 2020.

While BYOD (bring your own device) has lost some of its shine due to management challenges associated with it, “BYOD volume will continue to account for the majority of the global business smartphone devices into the future, although corporate liable volume will grow over the next couple of years at nearly a double digit growth rate”.

“China and the US will be the largest business smartphone country markets in 2016, accounting for half of worldwide business smartphone sales,” Gina Luk, senior analyst of mobile workforce strategies for the research firm, continued.

Andrew Brown, executive director of enterprise research at Strategy Analytics, said: “Cost savings and allowing users their own device choice are the top reasons employees are allowed to purchase and use their own mobile devices.”