What is MCP, and why does every software company suddenly have one?
November 2026
The short answer
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is a standard way for AI tools to connect to other software. Think of it as a universal plug: if your system has an MCP server, AI assistants that support MCP can read from it and, if you allow it, act in it.
Where it came from
Anthropic, the company behind Claude, published MCP as an open standard in November 2024. Before it, every AI tool needed its own custom connection to every system. Since then OpenAI, Google and Microsoft have all added support, so one connection can work across several assistants.
Why you are hearing about it now
Because the systems you run are shipping MCP servers. Just in the last two months: Xero launched a hosted MCP server, NetSuite opened bank reconciliation to outside AI tools through MCP, Odoo 20 can act as an MCP server, Business Central lets you run data queries through one, and Notion added admin controls for the AI tools connected to it.
In practice, that means you can ask Claude or Copilot a question about your actual numbers, jobs or customers, instead of copying data in by hand.
What to check before you connect anything
- What can it do? Some connections only read. Others can create invoices or accept reconciliations. Know which one you are switching on.
- Whose access does it use? Most MCP connections act as the person who connected them. If that person can see bank feeds, so can the AI.
- Who approved it? Notion, Odoo and Atlassian now let admins approve or block connections. Use that.
- Is anything leaving the country or being kept? Check the vendor’s data terms, especially for personal information under the Privacy Act.
Where we come in
Connecting systems is most of what we build. Where a system has a good MCP server, we use it. Where it does not, we build one, read-only first, then add actions once people trust it.
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