1000 beta testers wanted! Are you using Skype in your business? Are you wanting you combine your Skyping with a collaborative workspace tool? If you are happy trying a highly developed beta product then this is an early opportunity to get in the front door and build the future. Sign up at Verosee and DOWNLOAD without waiting here.

How would I describe Verosee and my initial experience? It's like Groove but with Skype inside. It's frankly the best wrapper for Skype yet released. It's also the best demonstration of what Skype has to offer when integrated into collaborative work platforms. What intrigues me the most? It's a potential Groove killer, developed by a smart team in Argentina under the radar of both Skype and I'm sure all the major players. A little imagination and one can see a number of strategic opportunities developing for Verosee. So join in and test with me.

What’s it look like? It’s a workspace. You can live in it and switch between workspace projects while managing all your Skype interactions at the same time. It’s effective for conference calls and sharing presentations amongst small groups.

What does Verosee promise? 10 related ones in my book.
1. Enhanced workplace and personal productivity
2. Multimedia call center
3. Multiple workspaces and Project workgroup optiions. Capable of managing document flow for example.
4. Group management from administrator to guest
5. Presence - new angles on managing Skype presence; location, workspace, document open etc.
6. Security architecture – Read their security document. Well thought out. Have to download to access it.
7. Now Windows, it will be cross-platform - java based
8. File synchronization (acts like a wiki for Word docs.) Versioning.
9. Desktop sharing – same document at the same time
10. Features to come include calendar, discussion, browser, photos etc.

Download Verosee here. First 1000. After that you will need to find a lucky buddy to start testing with. Verosee is a startup. They would like to get some early customers for their value added / premium services. If you are a business and testing, take out a short term license for everything and help them along. Nothing can make a smart bunch of developers take your more seriously than a couple of bucks. The price card is also something I’ve discussed with them. So feedback here or directly to the blog will be helpful. I believe their basic annual pricing is very reasonable at $29/ year with a demo option.

I'm looking forward to Skype's response. I don’t think Skype even knows they are about to enter the Groove space. Then Verosee is such a pretty integration and so well thought out you'd almost think that Skype's own UI designer had a hand in it (he's from Argentina too). While they have developed their own UI, it borrows from many of Skype’s best. Skype effectively runs in the background when Verosee is running.

Are there downsides? It’s a large file and does use some processing power. Although when inactive it appears to reside effectively in the background. After testing it for a week, I’ve found it stable. That’s not to say it will be without bugs. I’ve seen many Skype related plug-ins over the last year. This is definitely one of the most professional. It also reaffirms my belief in developers continuing to develop with and for Skype. Still, developers have learned. This proof of concept could just as easily be working with Google Talk if Google got on and released an API.

There's a new calendar+groupware in town for Skypers and it brings some slick new features with it. I met yesterday with the management team at Airena who took me through the paces on their Airset - Skype integrated solution for group management. AirSet software allows users to manage all their groups - family, work, social - in one place using a free Web-based service that includes calendars, address books, to-do lists and blogs. It's an interesting product and I've extended my testing to a group calendar for the Skype Journal and another for the family.

Airset was described to me as a "Lifeware" product for the small companies, and individuals that want control of their life but don't have access to MS Exchange servers and the complex systems that groupware traditionally requires. The more I've played with it the more it makes sense to me. I'm not part of a large company and yet I do need to coordinate calendars, and updates with others. Similarly, many social networking services for me are simply 'broken" as they don't integrate effectively with the events in my life. It's also responds quickly as a result of being "Ajax-enabled". I'll leave that to the real techies.

I'm pleased to see Airset incorporate Skype. By using Skype presence information and adding easy calling it provides a whole new dimension to managing events. It's also yet another illustration of where communications is going.

Thinking about setting an appointment for the group; Skype makes it easy to check online; potentially reducing time and adding productivity. By adding Skype, now voice services are integrated so instant conference calls or mulit-chats can help with what were once logistical nightmares. Airset is also demonstrating what "mashups" are all about. If you look deeper they are also hooking into Google Maps and tying mapping information to contact details. Thus uploading your contacts means you now have a map at a click for everyone.

A point worth remembering is you can manage your groups, (eg a groups calendar) and never ever have any of your contacts join up and be Airset members. AirSet will still send them messages and reminders. For those wanting to augment email reminders with mobile updates then Arena has a premium service which I'm sure is going to evolve to add a lot more. Updates are sent by email and SMS is ready to integrate with your mobile phone. Overall it synched quickly and easily with my Outlook contacts and calendar system. I even feel happier that I now have a backup for that part of my life!

There are other Skype related groupware products in the works. However, this is a strong signal (even late!) that companies providing other core services (eg an accounting package) should be racing to add VoIP functionality to their solutions. Another thing to keep in mind. Airena like others should be complemented for testing and moving forward with Skype and Google Maps API integrations. However, soon we are going to see IM agnostic solutions. Airset could just as easily cross connect different IM systems or turn their learnings to Google Talk or Gizmo.

So whats your Calendar solution? Does it integrate with Skype? Can you access it anywhere?