Developers are confident on the future of MCP

Model Context Protocol (MCP) has emerged as a top standard for providing AI with access to external data, tools, and APIs. And the momentum is continuing into 2026.

Zuplo's recently released State of MCP Report found that 72% of MCP adopters expect MCP usage to increase in the next 12 months, and over half are confident in its long-term viability. The survey gathered input from nearly 100 software professionals that are actively using or building MCP servers.

Many are already off to the MCP races. 70% of developers already have two to seven MCP servers configured, folks are using it for context engineering use cases, and MCP builders are routinely creating multiple servers.

Yet, there is still some reticence. Nearly 40% are skeptical about its future. That may be due to the fact that security is a big concern. Over half cite security or access control issues as a top challenge when building MCP servers. This is no surprise, given the MCP risks that have been documented.

One fact that really stood out to me was that 58% of MCP builders are creating MCP wrappers around existing APIs. Interestingly, a lot of this mirrors some developments that we've witnessed with APIs over the years. Not only do MCPs wrap APIs, but teams are gravitating toward tools like gateways and generation software for MCP.

Like private APIs, most of the MCP use cases are internal-facing, which I found interesting too. Sixty-two percent say they're creating MCP for internal users in their company, higher than 56% which are for external customers.

Other protocols, like UTCP and A2A, are gaining some mindshare, but it seems like it may be too late for incumbents to challenge MCP as a standard. Still, there's an argument to be made that MCP isn't really necessary in all cases — such as when simple predictable automation is all you need.

Regardless, MCP is offering a very low-effort means to synchronize AI with APIs and other sources. As such, it'll no doubt be interesting to follow this space to see how MCP and the ecosystem evolves within 2026.