Enhancing messaging services using translation gateways

A system for supporting a messaging service, comprising:

• a first translation gateway for use between a) a customer data network that is administered by a customer of the messaging service and not by a provider of the messaging service and b) a hostile data network;
• and
• a second translation gateway for use between a) the hostile data network and b) a service provider network that is administered by the provider and not by the customer,
• wherein the service provider network implements a distributed interface to a telephony network into which a message, that originates in the customer data network and arrives via the first translation gateway and the hostile network, is transmitted by the interface,
• the first gateway having translation functionality that is applied to a plurality of outbound messages originating from a plurality of client processes in the customer network, in a manner that is transparent to users of said plurality of client processes, the plurality of outbound messages being addressed to the service provider network, and
• the first gateway being designed to then forward the plurality of outbound messages to the second translation gateway through the hostile data network.

A method for providing a secure messaging service, comprising:

• assigning a separate set of circuit switched network addresses to each of a plurality of corporate subscribers of the messaging service, some of the sets of circuit switched network addresses being in different countries;
• associating the set of circuit switched network addresses for each subscriber with an internet domain of said subscriber;
• receiving one of a) an inbound fax message and b) an inbound voice message that has been addressed to one of the set of circuit switched network addresses of a given subscriber;
• and
• transferring the inbound message to a first translation gateway that is configured to service the given subscriber, wherein the inbound message is addressed to the internet domain of the given subscriber;
• and
• sending from the first translation gateway the inbound message to a predefined port of a second translation gateway in a privacy-maintaining manner over a hostile data network of which the first and second translation gateways are separate nodes, wherein the second translation gateway is administered by the given subscriber and is to forward the inbound message to an affiliate of the given subscriber over an internal data network of the given subscriber of which the second translation gateway is a node.

A method for operating a message delivery service, comprising:

• associating a separate set of data network source address names to each of a plurality of different, group subscribers of the message delivery service, wherein each group subscriber has entered into a service contract with a provider of the message delivery service;
• instructing a given one of the plurality of group subscribers to configure a first translation gateway administered by the given group subscriber, so that the first gateway applies a translation function to any outbound message that originates in an internal data network of the given group subscriber and that is addressed to a specified, internet domain of the service provider, the translation function being designed to ensure privacy of an outbound message as it travels through a hostile data network;
• verifying that an account of the given group subscriber is current in response to receiving an outbound message that originated in the internal data network of the given group subscriber and that traveled through the hostile data network before arriving at a second translation gateway;
• and
• forwarding the received outbound message from the second translation gateway to an outbound resource, wherein the second translation gateway and the outbound resource are different nodes of an internal data network of the service provider, and wherein the outbound resource is to transmit the received outbound message to a circuit-switched network address of a recipient.

A system for providing a messaging service, comprising:

• a media server to capture an inbound message that has been addressed to a circuit switched network address assigned to a subscriber of the service, the server being a node of a private data network of a provider of the service;
• a storage device within the private data network, to store the captured inbound message for the subscriber;
• and
• a messaging application server being a further node of the private data network, to send a resource locator link over a hostile data network to a data network address of the subscriber, wherein the stored inbound message is then sent to a client process, used by the subscriber, in response to the link being invoked by the subscriber, and wherein the stored inbound message is sent, under the direction of the messaging application server, over the hostile data network and in a manner that maintains the privacy of the message.