Everyone’s an MCP gateway now

The blog post by James Hirst discusses the rapid shift in the API management landscape with the widespread adoption of the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It highlights the tendency of API gateway vendors to claim MCP capability by adding plugins rather than building native MCP support, drawing parallels to how traditional ad agencies rebranded as digital agencies without substantial changes. Hirst emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between genuine native MCP integration and superficial plugin solutions, as the latter may not meet the comprehensive needs for security, rate limiting, observability, and audit trails required by regulated industries. The post stresses that while plugins may appear effective in demos, their limitations become apparent in critical situations, which can lead to costly problems for businesses. To make informed decisions, Hirst suggests asking vendors specific questions about their MCP architecture and evaluating their responses closely, as the true differentiation between native and plugin solutions will only become evident over time.