In a keynote address at Enterprise Connect 2011 in Orlando, Skype today announced a strategic partnership with Citrix Systems, Inc., a global leader in virtual computing and Web collaboration. The partnership will enable Skype to introduce new, easy-to-use, Web and audio conferencing capabilities enabled with GoToMeeting® technology from Citrix. It will help expand Skype’s business offerings by providing powerful collaboration features for businesses of all sizes to set up and hold meetings. Based on Citrix’s successful GoToMeeting product, Skype’s new Web conferencing and audio features are expected to become available towards the end of the year.

The Web and audio conferencing features are expected to supplement the Skype for Business desktop experience, which already offers Skype users instant messaging, voice and video calling, group video calling, conferencing, file sharing and more. Adding the GoToMeeting capability will also allow Skype’s business users to quickly set up online audio conferencing meetings that users can join via Skype or through public switched telephone network (PSTN) phone numbers. It will embed Skype’s SILK audio codec, which means Skype users can expect audio quality that is practically crystal clear. In addition, it will enable rich and interactive screen sharing, whereby meeting hosts can easily walk through, annotate and highlight whatever they would like to show on their computer screen, such as a presentation or demonstration.

“GoToMeeting is used by millions of people around the world, which is testament to our unrelenting focus on ease of use and delivering a superior customer experience,” said Brett Caine, senior vice president and general manager of Citrix’s Online Services Division. “Teaming with Skype further extends our high quality capabilities, enhancing the collaboration experience for business users and workshifters everywhere.”

GoToMeeting is an intuitive, easy-to-use, real-time Web conferencing service. With GoToMeeting, organizations can reduce travel costs and increase productivity by enabling connections for people to meet with almost anyone, anywhere. The product has been designed so that users can easily schedule meetings or meet immediately; no training or other assistance is required.

“We are thrilled to partner with Citrix, which offers one of the most popular and easy to use Web conferencing solutions on the market today,” said David Gurlé, vice president and general manager of Skype Enterprise. “Web and audio conferencing has been among the top requested features by our business users. This represents a significant step towards broadening our enterprise offerings, while adding features that will enable business people to collaborate even more efficiently and effectively.” Pricing details for Skype’s new audio and Web conferencing will be available when the feature becomes available.