Dell Inc. is stepping up its efforts to diversify beyond data center equipment and consumer products into the higher margin software business with a landmark expansion of its enterprise mobility management (EMM) suite  that introduces the ability to isolate work from personal data on employee-owned devices.

The result of a collaboration with VoIP giant Vonage Holdings Corp., the latest addition to the roster is not so much a feature but a separate solution. Dubbed Dell Business Phone, the application can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play and set up with a few clicks. Once installed, it creates a self-contained partition complete with its own dedicated call number that enables IT organizations to watch out for suspicious activity and enforce corporate governance policies without fear of overstepping privacy lines.

For users, that isolation provides the peace of mind that their information is safe from nosy administrators and removes the possibility of personal files being accidentally shared with colleagues. The value proposition is similar to that of existing mobile virtualization solutions such as  the Horizon View platform from VMware Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s  Knox sandboxing tool, which is currently being baked into Android.

Dell hopes to set itself apart from the pack with support for both of the top mobile operating systems and a set of value-added capabilities designed to simplify life for workers on both sides of the IT divide. Virtual workplaces come integrated with Microsoft Office 365 and Box Inc.s namesake cloud locker, which two of the most widely-used cloud services in the enterprise, as well as the back-end management capabilities included in the broader Dell Mobile Workplace suite.

Admins can define policies for routing calls over the most appropriate network depending on availability and carrier ties, record calls for legal purposes and take advantage of consolidated plans to cut costs, according to the company. Dell hopes that receiving a single bill instead of separate statements for each employee will be is a major selling point with enterprise customers.

Now that it includes a virtualization capability, the hardware giant’s EMM suite provides a competitive all-in-one platform for companies  seeking to tame the bring-your-own-device phenomenon. Dell’s platform-agnostic approach to the software market was also reflected in its recent addition of support for Microsoft’s Hyper-V and Red Hat Inc.’s RHEV hypervisors in the newest version of its software-defined data center monitoring suite.

Dell Business Phone is set to hit the market in October with a selection of usage plans starting at $19.99 a month for up to 1,000 voice minutes and unlimited text messages.

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