1. A computer comprising: a network port operable to couple to a network; memory for storing at least a portion of a gateway program; and a central processing unit operable to execute the gateway program by: receiving a data access message via the network port; determining a client side data access protocol by: identifying a user account associated with the data access message; querying a registry for gateway configuration information corresponding to the user account; and interpreting the gateway configuration information to determine the client slice data access protocol; enabling a gateway module to translate protocol of the data access message between the client side data access protocol and a dispersed data storage network (DDSN) data access protocol to produce a translated data access message; and facilitating conveyance of the translated data access message between a client computer and a plurality of slice servers.