The making of Hummingbird: m360’s journey to democratising enterprise communication

Formed in January 2022, m360 aims to create a unified enterprise communications powerhouse with a shared mission to transform how Philippine businesses connect with their customers.

Operating under Globe Telecom’s Brave Connective Holdings Inc., m360 cultivates a collaborative and customer-centric innovation through Globe’s strategic messaging businesses.

This case study — particularly through the development of Hummingbird — has redefined enterprise communication and contributed to the company’s rapid growth.

Developing Hummingbird

Breaking down organisational silos has become essential for delivering solutions that genuinely meet market needs. In m360’s case, their Product Management and Acceleration and Innovation Group underscored the value of cross-functional collaboration, shared commitment to market transformation, and continuous learning and market adaptation.

Rather than developing solutions in isolation, the team moved towards cross-functional collaboration from research through deployment, aligning with the overall shared mission of centering around democratising enterprise-grade communication tools.

“Hummingbird is the culmination of our mission to democratise enterprise communication, removing technical barriers and simplifying implementation so that businesses of all sizes can access advanced, omnichannel messaging tools,” said m360 president and CEO, Ramon Hirang.

This, in total, did not just build another messaging platform, but rather a reimagined approach to business communications. Powered by these realisations, the team developed Hummingbird with no-code implementation capabilities, noting that innovations remain market-relevant and accessible across business segments. 

Building Market Categories Through Innovation

The team has advanced the Philippine communications market by introducing two market-defining innovations shaped by extensive industry research.

1. Wallet-Based Messaging Solution: Flexible, Multi-Channel Communication

To overcome the limitations of traditional postpaid systems, which require large upfront investments, the team developed the country’s first wallet-based messaging solution. This innovation allows businesses to access multiple communication channels through SMS, OTT platforms like Viber and WhatsApp, and Email, under a single subscription, paying only for what they use. 

Through a unified dashboard, companies can monitor messaging activities in real time and adjust service usage based on seasonal demand without renegotiating contracts.

The platform also incorporates advanced channel-specific capabilities:

• Email API: bulk messaging and delivery tracking
  
• Viber Business Messages: rich media content and automatic SMS failover, reaching over 40 million Filipino subscribers
  
• WhatsApp Business API: message templates, two-way conversations, and analytics
  

2. Hummingbird: No-Code Omnichannel Conversation Management for SMBs

Through Hummingbird, this omnichannel platform centralises all customer interactions across touchpoints into a single inbox. It allows businesses to:

• Implement customer engagement workflows in just a few clicks
  
• Automate responses for various scenarios
  
• Sell products directly through chat
  

3. Market-Creating Business Model Innovation

Beyond the products themselves, the team pioneered new business models in the Philippine communications market. By introducing a pay-per-use approach, the solution removed barriers to multi-channel communication. The unified dashboard concept transformed channel management, shifting enterprises from managing separate vendor relationships to adopting an integrated ecosystem mindset.

Through these innovations, the m360 team has not only delivered technical solutions but also reimagined how businesses approach customer communication in the Philippines.

Given this, the team has scaled solutions from Small and Medium-sized businesses’ needs to enterprise requirements. This innovative architectural thinking demonstrated innovation beyond individual features to systemic business transformation. Moreover, these innovations have also been adapted to the diverse industry requirements while maintaining the platform consistency.

Scaling Innovation with Measurable Market Impact 

The m360 team has demonstrated strong performance across operational, growth, and client impact metrics, underscoring its ability to convert market insights into scalable solutions that support both emerging businesses and enterprise-level operations.

As the demand for integrated, reliable, and flexible communication solutions continues to accelerate, m360’s Product Innovation Team shows how market insight, collaboration, and adaptive design can reshape an entire sector. 

“This recognition as MarTech Product Innovation Team of the Year validates our commitment to not just building a product, but fundamentally reshaping how businesses connect with their customers in the Philippines,” emphasised Ramon.

By developing platforms like Hummingbird and introducing new business models that lower barriers to technological adoption, the team has laid the groundwork for a more connected and customer-centric enterprise landscape in the Philippines, setting a benchmark for martech innovation across the region.