Model Context Protocol (MCP)

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard through which AI applications such as language models access external data sources, tools and services in a secure, structured way. Anthropic released MCP in November 2024.

What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI applications to external data sources, tools and services. Anthropic released MCP in November 2024. Instead of building a separate interface for every application, all parties use one shared protocol.

How does MCP work?

An AI application acts as an MCP client (for example Claude or ChatGPT) and connects to an MCP server that provides data, tools and actions. Through a defined message format, the model can read files, trigger actions or retrieve context, without a separate integration being needed for each application.

Why is MCP relevant for companies?

MCP connects AI assistants to a company's own data and systems, making AI productively usable on business data. At the same time it raises questions of access control, data protection and traceability that should be resolved before deployment.

MCP and data security

What matters is which permissions the MCP server enforces and where the data resides. A secure MCP server adopts the existing permission model, logs access and prevents uncontrolled AI use (shadow AI).

How SecureCloud supports MCP

SecureCloud provides an MCP server through which AI clients access files using natural language. SecureCloud's permission model is adopted unchanged, all access is logged, and the data stays in Germany, GDPR-compliant.

Frequently asked questions

Who developed the Model Context Protocol?

The Model Context Protocol was developed by Anthropic and released as an open standard in November 2024. It can be used by any AI application and service.

What is the difference between an MCP client and an MCP server?

An MCP client is the AI application that requests information, such as Claude or ChatGPT. An MCP server provides the data, tools and actions the client accesses through the protocol.

Is MCP secure for business data?

That depends on the MCP server. It is secure when the server enforces the existing permission model, logs access and processes the data in Germany in a GDPR-compliant way.