What the Model Context Protocol changes for business software
MCP gives AI models a standard way to reach your tools and data. Here is why that matters more than another chatbot.
Every AI project eventually asks the same question: call a hosted model, or run one on our own infrastructure? The honest answer is that most teams need both.
Choose hosted when
You need the strongest reasoning available, your data can leave your environment under a proper agreement, and your volume is still uncertain. Hosted APIs let you validate the product before investing in infrastructure.
Choose private when
Data must stay on-premise for legal or contractual reasons, the task is narrow and repeated at high volume, or latency and cost predictability matter more than peak capability. Smaller open models, well-evaluated, often do these jobs well.
Design for switching
Put a thin model layer between your product and any provider, and keep an evaluation set for each task. Then the hosted-versus-private decision becomes a measurement, not a debate.
