Heather Mclean, editor of Mobile Business, puts forward the hypothetical example of a firm that uses the BlackBerry as its smartphone of choice.
Then its workers begin to buy iPhones of their own and bring them into the office, meaning business and personal wireless communications devices are both on-site.
"If enough people start buying iPhones and HTC Android handsets and coming into work with them, then that creates a security issue," Ms Mclean argues.
By providing them with iPhones from the outset, she says companies can maintain their grip on communications security.
Meanwhile, there are companies capable of installing software on iPhones, as well as on HTC and Motorola handsets, to enhance their protection.
In this way, employees can be offered the fashionable handset that they want, while its risk to the business is minimised further than if they provided their own phone.
