What Is Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard developed by Anthropic that standardizes how AI models connect to data sources and tools, enabling consistent authentication, permissions, and interactions across different applications and platforms. MCP provides a universal interface for AI systems to access databases, APIs, file systems, and business applications with proper security controls and access governance. Instead of building custom integrations for each AI-data connection, developers can implement MCP once and connect to any MCP-compatible data source. This standardization accelerates AI deployment, improves security through consistent permission handling, and enables AI agents to work across diverse enterprise environments with reliable, auditable access to the information they need.