MCP stands for Model Context Protocol, and the easiest way to hold it is the plug analogy: USB-C for AI. It is a standard way for a model to connect to tools and data, the same shape of connection every time, instead of every company wiring its own custom link for every tool it wants the model to reach.
Before a standard like this, connecting a model to your calendar, your CRM, your files, and your ticketing system meant four separate custom integrations, each one built, paid for, and maintained on its own, each one breaking in its own way. A standard plug collapses that: build to the protocol once, and tools that speak it can connect without bespoke wiring.
For an operator, MCP is mostly a procurement question, and it is worth asking early: does this support MCP, or are we paying for a custom integration? Custom integrations are not just an invoice today. They are lock-in tomorrow, because every bespoke connection is one more thing only the original vendor fully understands. Standards travel. Custom wiring does not.
A concrete example. A business wants its assistant to see the shared drive, the calendar, and the project tracker. Down the custom path, that is three integration projects before anyone sees value. Down the standard path, each tool that supports the protocol snaps into the same socket. The work shifts from wiring things together to deciding what the model should be allowed to do once connected, which is the better problem to have.
“Does it support MCP, or are we paying for a custom integration?”
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