MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard for connecting AI applications to other systems: databases, files, business software and tools. Its documentation says: "MCP (Model Context Protocol) is an open-source standard for connecting AI applications to external systems." It offers an analogy: "Think of MCP like a USB-C port for AI applications."
Anthropic, which makes Claude, introduced MCP in November 2024. In December 2025 the Linux Foundation announced a new Agentic AI Foundation with MCP among its founding projects, so no single vendor now owns it.
How it works
A system that wants to be reachable by AI publishes an MCP server. The server describes what it offers: data an assistant can read, and actions it can take. Any AI application that speaks MCP can then connect, without a custom integration for each pair of systems.
How widely it is used
At the handover, Anthropic reported "more than 10,000 active public MCP servers". That is the originator's own count. Public servers are not the same as business systems in daily use.
Safeguards and what to ask
The specification sets principles: "Users must explicitly consent to and understand all data access and operations". It also warns that tool descriptions "should be considered untrusted, unless obtained from a trusted server". Principles aren't guarantees. Each server and each AI application implements them, or doesn't.
In a timber business, MCP could let an assistant check a contract, a load and an invoice in one conversation, and, if allowed, change records. So ask of any MCP server: which records does it expose, can it write as well as read, whose permissions does it use, and where are its actions logged?
What it isn't
MCP isn't an AI model or a data platform. It doesn't clean, join or define data, so an assistant's answers are still only as good as the data behind them.
Quarri's security page sets out how customer data is isolated, encrypted and audited.
Sources
- Model Context Protocol, "What is the Model Context Protocol (MCP)?", documentation: modelcontextprotocol.io
- Model Context Protocol, Specification, version 2026-07-28: modelcontextprotocol.io
- Linux Foundation, "Linux Foundation Announces the Formation of the Agentic AI Foundation (AAIF)", 9 December 2025: linuxfoundation.org
- Anthropic, "Donating the Model Context Protocol and establishing the Agentic AI Foundation", 9 December 2025: anthropic.com
Quarri is an AI-native data platform for the timber supply chain. It connects buying, production, sales and inventory for forest management, sawmill, wood products and pulp, paper and packaging operators.