MCP is NOT a strategy – Why your enterprise AI value chain starts with APIs

About the webinar

MCP (Model Context Protocol) has become a popular abstraction for orchestrating models in AI workflows. But too often, it’s treated like a roadmap when it’s really just a tool.

In this concise, high-impact session for tech executives, we’ll unpack why MCP is overhyped, where it fits (and where it doesn’t), and what actually drives value in enterprise AI systems.

Instead, it all starts with APIs. They’re what link systems, surface context, and enforce governance before, during, and after model execution. Real-world AI success depends on how these connections are designed and scaled. You’ll come away with a clear view of the actual AI value chain, where APIs, agents, and orchestration (not just model management) define success.

 

Who is this session for:

This session is designed for senior technology professionals such as CTOs, CIOs, Heads of Product, Enterprise Architects, Heads of Engineering and API Managers who want to get past the noise and build AI that works at scale.

Budha Bhattacharya
Director of Product Ecosystems

Budha is the Director of Product Ecosystem at Tyk and the elected Chair of the OpenAPI Initiative’s Governance Board. He leads global efforts to expand API ecosystems, drive open standard adoption – including OAS, Arazzo, and Overlays – and champion product education through practical tools and compelling storytelling.

As the co-creator of the API platform maturity model and instructor of the API platform engineering fundamentals programme, Budha helps teams level up their API thinking. He’s also the host of Tyk’s LEAP conferences and a seasoned speaker at major events such as Platform Summit, GraphQLConf, and All Things Open.

Equal parts thought leader, developer advocate, and metaphor enthusiast, Budha is on a mission to remove friction from API ecosystems by untangling technical complexity – preferably with a great metaphor and a well-placed pun.

Martin Buhr
CEO and Co-founder, Tyk

Martin Buhr is the Founder, CEO and original author of Tyk, the open-source API gateway and management platform that now handles millions of transactions for global brands such as NatWest, T-Mobile, Soundcloud and Capital One.Operating from New Zealand, Martin has steered Tyk from a side-project to a Gartner Magic Quadrant Leader in Full-Lifecycle APIM, while championing open-source values, and pragmatic engineering.

His recent writing explores how emerging agent frameworks will reshape API security (“The (potentially awful) future of APIM”) and why standards like Anthropic’s MCP and Google’s A2A are critical to building a safe, interoperable AI value chain at enterprise scale (“Making sense of MCP: Why standardisation matters in the AI supply chain”). A self-described maker, gopher and general curmudgeon, Martin speaks on the practical intersection of APIs, governance and generative-AI – helping organisations de-risk innovation while moving fast.