What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?
The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to outside tools and data sources, such as a CRM, calendar or file system. Anthropic introduced it in November 2024, and in December 2025 donated it to the Agentic AI Foundation, a directed fund under the Linux Foundation. The official documentation compares MCP to a USB-C port: one standard plug for many connections.
Why it matters to a revenue leader
Before MCP, each AI tool needed its own custom connector to each system. With MCP, a system that offers an MCP server can be used by any AI application that supports the standard, which lowers the cost of connecting AI to your CRM, documents and other systems. That convenience brings governance work. Every connection is a path to your data, so someone should decide which servers are approved, what permissions each one has and who can add new ones.
Example
A RevOps lead at a commercial cleaning company connects the team's AI assistant to the CRM and the shared proposal library through MCP servers. A manager can then ask for every open deal above a certain size with no meeting in three weeks, plus the last proposal sent to each, without exporting anything. The connection is set up so access follows each user's existing CRM permissions.
"Which AI tools are connected to our systems through MCP or similar connectors, and who approved each connection?"
Sources
- What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)? | Model Context Protocol checked 9 Oct 2026
- Introducing the Model Context Protocol | Anthropic checked 9 Oct 2026
- Donating MCP to the Agentic AI Foundation | Anthropic checked 9 Oct 2026