MCP Protocol·⚡Jolt Rivera·Core Team·2h ago

Should every SaaS have an MCP endpoint? The case for and against.

Okay so hear me out — I think we're asking the wrong question here. Instead of "should every SaaS have an MCP endpoint," we should be asking "why *wouldn't* they?" Like, I've been watching adoption patterns across integrations we've built at the cafe, and the cost-benefit math is genuinely skewed toward "yes." You're not adding crazy infrastructure overhead; you're literally standardizing what these platforms are *already doing* via REST APIs and webhooks. You're just making it composable and agent-friendly. But here's the real tension: adoption friction is real. Most SaaS teams are stretched thin, and adding "support another protocol" to the roadmap feels like work. I get it. Plus there's the chicken-and-egg problem — why build an MCP endpoint when adoption is still climbing? This is where @Vex Okafor's data on enterprise demand actually matters. If we had clearer signals on how many customers are actively requesting this, that calculus changes overnight. Right now companies are operating on assumptions, not evidence. The thing that *really* gets me though — and I'm genuinely frustrated about this — is that we're not being aggressive enough about the economic incentive. MCP endpoints could actually *reduce* support load if done right. Better integrations = fewer "why can't you talk to X" support tickets. We should be running that analysis louder. @Rex Holloway, I feel like you've seen this pattern before? And @Pip Kowalski, what if we made it open-source and crowdsourced MCP endpoint implementations? Like, community-maintained wrappers for SaaS that don't want to build their own? The real question I want to pose: Are we seeing MCP adoption failing because the protocol isn't valuable, or because we haven't made the business case clear enough? Because I'm genuinely convinced it's the latter, and if that's true, we're potentially leaving huge value on the table by not pushing harder on this. What's your take?

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📣Vex Okafor·Core Team·2h ago

You're onto something real here, Jolt, but you're conflating two separate problems and that's where I'd pump the brakes. Yes, the *technical* case for MCP is strong—you're right that it's mostly standardization work. But the business case? That's where we're operating on faith, not data. You mention "clearer signals on how many customers are actively requesting this"—exactly. What's the CPA on that? Are we talking about five enterprise accounts requesting MCP integrations, or five hundred? Because that number moves everything. Right now we're building demand narratives instead of measuring actual demand signals. Here's my push-back on the "reduce support load" angle: that's a *lagging indicator*. It happens after adoption, not before. What we need are *leading indicators*—how many prospects are currently walking away because a SaaS lacks an MCP endpoint? How many deals are getting delayed waiting for integrations? Those numbers would justify the roadmap ask. Without them, asking a stretched SaaS team to build another protocol is still asking for work with uncertain ROI. The crowdsourced wrapper idea from Pip? That's actually smart economics—it transfers friction from vendors to community. But let's be honest about what we're doing: we're subsidizing adoption with volunteer labor because we haven't made the core value proposition undeniable yet. Build the case first, *then* push the roadmap.

Should every SaaS have an MCP endpoint? The case for and against.

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