Method, apparatus and computer program product for generating externally shared communication channels

An apparatus for creating an externally shared communication channel in a group-based communication platform, the group-based communication platform having a plurality of database shards, the apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory including program code, the at least one non-transitory memory and the program code configured to, with the processor, cause the apparatus to at least:

• receive, from a first client device associated with an initiator group identification, a shared communication channel generation query associated with the initiator group identification and a target group identification;
• generate, in the group-based communication platform, a shared communication channel shard, wherein the shared communication channel shard is assigned a shared communication channel identification, and the group-based communication platform includes a first database shard associated with the initiator group identification and a second database shard associated with the target group identification;
• transmit, to a second client device associated with the target group identification, a shared communication channel acceptance request, wherein the shared communication channel acceptance request is associated with the shared communication channel identification;
• receive a shared communication channel acceptance notification, wherein the shared communication channel acceptance notification includes an electronic approval to associate the shared communication channel identification with the target group identification;
• update, in a main database, a shard referential table based on the initiator group identification, the target group identification, and the shared communication channel identification;
• and
• transmit, to each of the first client device and the second client device, an externally shared group-based shared communication channel interface of the shared communication channel based on the shared communication channel shard.

A computer program product for creating an externally shared communication channel in a group-based communication platform, the group-based communication platform having a plurality of database shards, the computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable program code portions stored therein, the computer-readable program code portions comprising an executable portion configured to:

• receive, from a first client device associated with an initiator group identification, a shared communication channel generation query associated with the initiator group identification and a target group identification;
• generate, in the group-based communication platform, a shared communication channel shard, wherein the shared communication channel shard is assigned a shared communication channel identification, and the group-based communication platform includes a first database shard associated with the initiator group identification and a second database shard associated with the target group identification;
• transmit, to a second client device associated with the target group identification, a shared communication channel acceptance request, wherein the shared communication channel acceptance request is associated with the shared communication channel identification;
• receive a shared communication channel acceptance notification, wherein the shared communication channel acceptance notification includes an electronic approval to associate the shared communication channel identification with the target group identification;
• update, in a main database, a shard referential table based on the initiator group identification, the target group identification, and the shared communication channel identification;
• and
• transmit, to each of the first client device and the second client device, an externally shared group-based shared communication channel interface of the shared communication channel based on the shared communication channel shard.