Model Context Protocol (MCP) governance in
Azure API Management (APIM) is now generally available.
This release extends Azure API Management’s proven
governance, security, and observability model to a new generation of AI-driven
workloads. Enterprises can now apply consistent policies, authentication, and
monitoring across both traditional APIs and AI systems that connect through
MCP.
What’s New:
- Expose APIs through MCP: Publish any managed API as an MCP-compliant endpoint so AI agents can
securely discover and invoke enterprise capabilities using standard protocols.
- Proxy and govern external MCP services: Apply Azure API Management policies, authentication, and
observability to third-party MCP servers—such as those hosted on Azure
Functions, Container Apps etc. or externally hosted MCP servers.
- Unify access and governance: Use the same products, policies, and subscription model to manage
both API and MCP traffic, ensuring consistent control and visibility across
your organization.
- Discover and govern through API Center: Register MCP endpoints in Azure API Center to build a private catalog of
enterprise MCP integrations, making them easy to discover, onboard, and reuse
across teams while maintaining centralized governance and compliance.
Available across Azure API Management
classic and v2 tiers, including the Developer tier and the Self-hosted
Gateway.
Learn more.