Patent ID: 7848984

Claim:
A computer implemented method for providing an electronic collaboration tool with which a financial services client and one or more financial services provider participants may interact, wherein the electronic collaboration tool is hosted on an information processing hub accessible to the financial services client and the financial services provider participants over one or more network communication links, the method being executed by one or more processors and comprising: enabling authorization of one or more participants to access client data and documents stored in one or more databases coupled to the information processing hub, wherein the client data and documents are related to one or more services provided for the financial services client through the electronic collaboration tool, wherein the one or more authorized participants include at least the financial services provider participants; enabling the financial services client and the authorized participants to submit client data and documents related to the services provided for the financial services client to the electronic collaboration tool, wherein the client data and documents submitted to the electronic collaboration tool are stored in the one or more databases; enabling the financial services client to request one or more services from the financial services provider participants through the electronic collaboration tool; and enabling the financial services provider participants to provide the requested services for the financial services client through the electronic collaboration tool, wherein enabling the financial services provider participants to provide the requested services includes enabling bi-directional communication between each of the financial services clients and the financial services provider participants and further enabling multi-directional communication among the authorized participants, wherein the electronic collaboration tool is configured to enable the financial service provider participants: (i) to access at least a portion of the stored financial services client data and documents according to the financial service provider participant's scope of authorization; (ii) to modify one or more accessed documents via the electronic collaboration tool such that the one or more modified documents are accessible to the financial services client and authorized ones of the financial service provider participants through the electronic collaboration tool; and (iii) to store the one or more modified documents.