Systems and methods for managing electronic communications

A system for managing communications among enterprises through a clearinghouse, the system comprising:

• a database;
• and
• a gateway server comprising at least one processor in communication with the database and configured to:
• store an enterprise directory in the database, the enterprise directory including a plurality of enterprise profiles, each of the plurality of enterprise profiles describing a different enterprise from a plurality of enterprises and at least one mode of communication available to the enterprise described by the profile, wherein the at least one mode of communication described by the profile corresponds to at least one of instant messaging, voice, video, and email;
• receive, from a source enterprise, a partnership request identifying a target enterprise as a potential partner, wherein the source enterprise is associated with a first domain and the target enterprise is associated with a second domain, wherein the gateway server is configured to facilitate communication between the source enterprise and the target enterprise, and wherein the gateway server is configured to identify the first domain and the second domain to verify a partnership between the source enterprise and the target enterprise, respectively;
• notify the target enterprise of the received partnership request;
• receive a response from the target enterprise, the response specifying whether the target enterprise accepts the received partnership request and at least one approved mode of communication in which a source user associated with the source enterprise and a target user associated with the target enterprise can use to communicate;
• define a partnership between the source enterprise and the target enterprise based on the response;
• store, in the database, an indication of the defined partnership;
• receive a request from the source user having a first mode of communication to electronically communicate with the target user having a second mode of communication;
• and
• if the first and second modes of communication match the at least one approved mode of communication:
• enable electronic communications between the source user and the target user, wherein enabling electronic communications between the source user and the target user comprises translating, based on the available modes of communication identified in the enterprise profiles, communications between a first communications protocol used by the source user and a second communications protocol used by the target user, wherein the first communications protocol and the second communications protocol are selected from a group consisting of extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), session initiation protocol (SIP), and open system for communication in realtime (OSCAR) protocol.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that comprises a set of instructions that are executable by at least one processor to cause the at least one processor to perform a method for managing electronic communications, the method comprising:

• storing an enterprise directory in a database, the enterprise directory including a plurality of enterprise profiles, each of the plurality of enterprise profiles describing a different enterprise from a plurality of enterprises and at least one mode of communication available to the enterprise described by the profile, wherein the at least one mode of communication described by the profile corresponds to at least one of instant messaging, voice, video, and email;
• receiving, at a gateway server and from a source enterprise, a partnership request identifying a target enterprise as a potential partner, wherein the source enterprise is associated with a first domain and the target enterprise is associated with a second domain, wherein the gateway server is associated with a clearinghouse and is located separately from the source enterprise and the target enterprise, wherein the gateway server is configured to facilitate communication between the source enterprise and the target enterprise, and wherein the gateway server is configured to identify the first domain and the second domain to verify a partnership between the source enterprise and the target enterprise, respectively;
• notifying, by the gateway server, the target enterprise of the received partnership request;
• receiving, at the gateway server, a response from the target enterprise, the response specifying whether the target enterprise accepts the received partnership request and at least one approved mode of communication in which a source user associated with the source enterprise and a target user associated with the target enterprise can use to communicate;
• defining, with the gateway server, a partnership between the source enterprise and the target enterprise based on the response;
• storing, in the database, an indication of the defined partnership;
• receiving, at the gateway server, a request from the source user having a first mode of communication to electronically communicate with the target user having a second mode of communication;
• and
• in response to determining, based on the defined partnership, that the first and second modes of communication match the at least one approved mode of communication:
• enabling, with the gateway server, electronic communications between the source user and the target user, wherein enabling electronic communications between the source user and the target user comprises translating, communications between a first communications protocol used by the source user and a second communications protocol used by the target user, wherein the first communications protocol and the second communications protocol are selected from a group consisting of extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP), session initiation protocol (SIP), and open system for communication in realtime (OSCAR) protocol.