Spurred on by mass-market consumer adoption of smartphones, bringing your own device into the workplace has become a mainstream phenomenon.

At its most basic level, this typically means setting up an iPhone or Android device to connect to an Exchange ActiveSync service, and using it to get corporate push mail, calendaring, and contacts—and also letting IT guys remotely wipe the phone should it get lost.

That's just the tip of the BYOD iceberg, though. iOS supports the development and deployment of in-house applications that bypass the public store process, allowing not just e-mail but rich client applications to run on employee-owned devices. At the most extreme, even laptops and desktops can be brought into the workplace, using application virtualization or remote desktop and VDI to provide secure access to business applications.

Or you can just stop caring about the client completely and deliver all your applications through the Web.

While it was arguably Apple that made BYOD a thing that C-level executives started to care about—because they really wanted to use their fancy new iPhones at work—Microsoft in particular is keen to get in on the BYOD action. The company is trying to straddle both universes: powering devices that consumers want, but that enterprises won't be scared of, by ensuring that its software offers rich and capable management options.

Windows Phone 7 supported ActiveSync, but had weak support for policies, enterprise app deployment, and other BYOD features. Windows Phone 8 and Windows RT are going to be a different story altogether. Microsoft first announced that Windows RT would be managed through System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and Windows Intune back in April; the company has elaborated further in the intervening months, and recently released a beta of SCCM 2012 SP1, which gives SCCM users the first taste of Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 management.

What has BYOD meant to you and the organization you work for? Has it embraced user-provided devices, creating a happy workplace where everyone uses what they like? Is the IT department snowed under with trying to support the infinite variations of PC devices available? Is it a better way of working, or just a cynical ploy to get employees working at home and reduce CapEx? Tell us about your BYOD experiences in the comments section.

Listing image by Lenovo