One thing I've noticed many times is the value of agility.
UserVoice is software that allows companies, groups, or whatnot, to gauge interest in a solution to a problem. There are some open source programs out there as well, in addition to Google's Moderator (which takes a long time to find btw - I think they want to tease out some logistics first).
Anyway, UserVoice launched http://www.obamacto.org recently. This was a brilliant move for a few reasons. First of all, they're hitting their target audience - people who want to be or are a CTO (or at least have something to say about it). For their product, a moderation system, it's a perfect hit. Secondly, it's a proof of concept of how well their system works in a large environment. If it can handle a few million Americans, it can surely work at a Fortune 500 company.
Companies should always be ready to spin this kind of stuff out. The best way to do that is to not plan too much ahead of time. Hire as many smart people as you can afford and go.
Right now I can afford to work for myself for free :-)