Glossary

What is an MCP server?

An MCP server is a small program that connects AI assistants to another system, such as a CRM or a file store, using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It lists the actions it allows, such as “look up an order” or “create a ticket”. When an assistant asks for one, the server carries it out in the real system and sends back the result. Despite the name, it is software rather than a machine, and it can run on a laptop or in the cloud.

Why it matters for a business

An MCP server decides what an assistant can reach in a system and what it can do there. It offers a fixed list of operations, so anything not on the list does not exist as far as the assistant is concerned, and it runs as a login whose permissions the system enforces like any other. Many software vendors now publish MCP servers for their own products, so connecting an assistant to a CRM or a helpdesk is often configuration rather than a build. What matters about any one server is which operations it offers, whether any of them write or only read, and whose account it runs as.