SAP Integration Suite brings API management and integration logic together in a single design experience.
Its MCP gateway enables AI agents to access selected business functions with security, access controls and monitoring.
For organisations connecting SAP and non-SAP systems, these developments address practical questions about how to design APIs, control their consumption and make existing services accessible to agents. They also introduce choices around deployment, subscriptions and the continued use of integration flows and API proxies.
Bringing Integration Logic and API Policies Together
Application programming interfaces (APIs) allow systems to exchange data and request operations. Cloud Integration and API Management have traditionally addressed different parts of the work involved: Cloud Integration handles message mediation, transformation and process orchestration, while API Management provides the policies and management capabilities used to secure, govern and publish APIs.
Working across these capabilities can involve separate design experiences, monitoring arrangements and management processes. API-centric integration brings integration steps and API policies into a common API artefact, giving teams one place to model both aspects of a scenario.
The API artefact can include the integration logic needed to communicate with backend systems, along with authentication and traffic management policies. The combined approach is particularly relevant when a new requirement needs both types of capability.
The API artefact was already available for Edge Integration Cell. It is now also available on the cloud-based Integration Cell runtime, which must be activated before use.
Teams can create an API artefact from a target URL or an OpenAPI specification, discover APIs through a configured API provider, or reuse an existing API artefact. API providers can connect to SAP and third-party systems, subject to the required configuration.
AI-assisted generation can also produce an OpenAPI specification from a written description. Developers can review and edit the specification in the API designer as they refine the API.
Making Business Operations Accessible Through MCP
Model Context Protocol (MCP) provides a standardised way for AI agents to access tools exposed by business systems. In SAP Integration Suite, the MCP gateway connects those tools to the policies and monitoring needed to govern their use.
Connecting an agent directly to backend APIs can require developers to build and maintain custom mappings for the APIs, fields and structures involved. Changes to those interfaces can create further maintenance work.
The MCP approach allows teams to expose selected operations as tools that SAP or third-party agents can consume. Developers decide which operations to make available and can inspect or edit their input and output schemas.
Tool descriptions also matter. A clear description helps an agent understand what an operation does and when it is relevant. For a tool that creates a purchase requisition, a fuller description can make the intended operation clearer to the agent.
The gateway supplies access controls and operational visibility around these tools. Organisations still need to configure those controls for their intended use.
Three Routes to Creating an MCP Server
SAP Integration Suite supports several ways to expose existing business capabilities through MCP.
An API artefact is therefore one route to creating an MCP server, rather than a prerequisite for every scenario. Organisations can choose an approach that reflects the interfaces they already operate.
Connections and destinations need to be configured appropriately. For on-premise systems, that preparation can also involve SAP Cloud Connector.
Once the MCP server is deployed on Integration Cell, it receives an endpoint that an agent can use with the required credentials.
Governing Access and Monitoring Consumption
The MCP gateway supports authentication, authorisation and traffic management policies, including rate limiting and IP restrictions. These controls help organisations govern who can access exposed services and how those services are consumed.
API artefacts also support configurable policies. These include external authentication and quotas, allowing teams to define access requirements and usage limits alongside their integration logic.
Principal propagation, which carries a user’s identity through to a connected system, is already enabled for MCP artefacts. Principal propagation support for API artefacts was introduced with the September 2026 update, with rollout to tenants expected to take one to two weeks.
Developer Hub provides the publication and subscription process. Administrators can group APIs or MCP servers into products and publish them. Developers then subscribe to obtain credentials for consumption.
For an agent connecting to an MCP server, the connection details include the MCP endpoint, token URL, client key and client secret. Publication, subscription and policy configuration therefore form part of the overall access model.
Monitoring and analytics provide visibility into how these services operate. Teams can examine API call volumes, health and usage. A custom view can identify APIs with longer response times and let teams drill down to the associated product and developer. MCP artefacts can also be monitored through message processing and analytics.
What Changes for Existing Integration Flows and API Proxies?
Existing integration flows and API proxies remain supported. Organisations can continue using them while assessing the new API artefact for scenarios that benefit from combining integration steps with API policies.
The new artefact does not yet provide complete policy parity with existing API Management. Organisations should check that the policies required for a particular scenario are available when choosing their approach.
SAP is still evaluating arrangements for transitioning existing API proxies to the new API artefact. Organisations should assess new scenarios against the capabilities available today as part of their wider SAP Integration Suite strategy, while continuing to use supported integrations.
Checking Edition and Consumption Requirements
API artefacts are available in the Standard edition of SAP Integration Suite. MCP is available in the Enhanced and Premium editions, with a free tier option for trying the capability.
MCP availability in Standard remains under discussion, with no confirmed change at this stage. Organisations evaluating agent connectivity should check the entitlement for the capability they intend to use.
MCP server usage is metered in messages.
Planned Developments for SAP Integration Suite
SAP is extending both the ways organisations expose services through MCP and the controls around AI access. The following items are roadmap targets, and their scope and delivery dates may change.
| Target | Planned development |
| Q4 2026 | Direct exposure of API proxies and API compositions through MCP, alongside a large language model (LLM) proxy for exposing models orchestrated through SAP AI Core. |
| Q1 2027 | MCP server verification with SAP AI Agent Hub and MCP availability on Edge Integration Cell. |
| Q2 2027 | Federation of third-party MCP servers through a single governed entry point. |
Direct exposure of API proxies and compositions remains distinct from the HTTP endpoint route already available. Similarly, MCP support on Edge Integration Cell is planned, while the cloud-based Integration Cell provides the runtime for the current MCP capabilities described here.
Combining MCP with Event Mesh or Advanced Event Mesh for event-driven AI agent architectures is also on the roadmap for 2027, without a more precise delivery date at this point.
Assessing Your SAP Integration Suite Priorities with On Device Solutions
A useful starting point is to identify the business operations agents need to access, the APIs, endpoints or RFCs that support them, and the policies required to govern consumption. That assessment should also cover existing integrations, edition requirements and any dependency on planned functionality.
For organisations also planning a move from legacy middleware, our article on moving from SAP PI/PO to SAP Integration Suite explores the assessment and operational considerations involved.
As a trusted SAP Gold Partner, On Device Solutions can help you explore how SAP Integration Suite relates to your SAP and non-SAP integration requirements.
Reach out to discuss your SAP Integration Suite priorities with an ODS specialist.
