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A start-up called 360Hubs is tackling the Web 2.0 market with a set of collaboration, social networking, knowledge management, and Web content management tools.
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The company went to market about nine months ago, and has secured a half-dozen customers, including Plaid Robot, which used 360Hubs to build a Web platform for connecting interior designers with the media, 360Hubs President Tony Ferraro says
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The vendor claims its 360Affinity Hub Platform can be deployed in three weeks or less, compared to months for some competitors. The vendor offers an enterprise platform along with products designed specifically for alumni associations, chambers of commerce, churches, franchises, talent agencies and trade shows.

“What we’ve tried to do is build a configurable, deployable repeatable solution,” Ferraro says. “Our customer base is varied quite a bit. It was important we could build a system that could meet the demands of a variety of industries.”

Deployments can cost as little as $10,000 or as much as $800,000. 360Hubs offers the typical blogs, wikis, podcasts, videocasts and tagging capabilities, but customizes the user interface and security to meet each customer’s business model. Customers select from 50 modules that cover many types of organizations.

“We present them with a custom solution for their environment, and it’s fully configurable [by customers] using a point-and-click interface after we deploy it,” Ferraro says.

360Hubs provides the software, but it can be hosted either by the customer or the vendor.

Though 360Hubs started developing its product in 2005, it is just now seeking media attention. Plaid Robot won a “Best of the Web” award from Building, Design + Construction Magazine after creating its Web platform with 360Hubs’ product. 360Hubs customers also include Radiance, an outfit offering a new Visa credit card; Catholic Global Impact, a charity; and ELearningCrew.org, on learning initiatives for global companies.

Based in Riverside, Calif., 360Hubs is led by Ferraro, a 10-year veteran of the enterprise content management market, the company’s Web site states.