---
title: "Model Context Protocol (MCP) & Connections | Shipshape Data"
description: "The connective layer between your data and your AI: MCP servers, access controls, business logic, and auditable lineage, so models reach governed data safely."
canonical: https://shipshapedata.com/services/mcp-connections/
language: en-GB
---

# Model Context Protocol

> The connective layer between your data and your AI: MCP servers, access controls, business logic, and auditable lineage, so models reach governed data safely.

Section: Home > Services > MCP & connections

Canonical page: https://shipshapedata.com/services/mcp-connections/

On this page:

- The layer that keeps AI in bounds
- What the connective layer gives you
  - MCP servers and tool interfaces
  - Access controls and row-level governance
  - Business logic and transformation rules
  - Auditable lineage from question to source
- Connection is where the value shows up
- How we deliver
  - Map the systems and the questions
  - Define access and governance
  - Build the interfaces
  - Encode the business logic
  - Monitor and audit
- Questions we hear most

## Frequently asked questions

### What is MCP?

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard that lets an AI model call tools and reach data through one defined interface, instead of being wired to each system by hand. It's becoming the common way to connect models to the systems they need.

### Why not just give the model direct access to our database?

Because raw access has no guardrails. The connective layer sits in between, so a model gets only the data it is allowed to, through governed queries, with every access logged and traceable back to source.

### Do we have to use MCP?

No. MCP is one option and an increasingly standard one, but we use whatever tool and data interfaces fit your stack. The point is a governed path between models and your systems, not a specific brand of protocol.

### How do you keep this secure?

Access controls, row-level governance, and auditable lineage are built in, and the whole design is agreed with your security team before anything connects. Models reach governed data without ever getting the keys to the raw systems.

### Does this replace our existing systems?

No, it connects them. Your systems stay where they are. The connective layer gives models a governed route to the data inside them, so you improve how they are reached rather than ripping them out.

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Shipshape Data is a London AI consultancy: we build the data foundation your AI depends on, then the AI on top. Site guide for agents: https://shipshapedata.com/llms.txt | Contact: hello@shipshapedata.com