Future-Proofing Your Agent Strategy.

Building for Tomorrow's Converged Agent Internet.

Author

Gabriel Botsie
September 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutes

AI Agent Protocols.

The agent protocol landscape will look completely different in 18 months. Here's how to build for that reality.

The Convergence Prediction

Both context-oriented and inter-agent protocols are heading toward the same destination. The distinction between "calling a tool" and "invoking an agent" is blurring rapidly.

What This Means:

Today's tool integrations (MCP) will evolve into tomorrow's agent collaborations. Don't over-architect current solutions based on artificial categories.

Practical Recommendations

Start with MCP for Immediate Needs

  • It's proven, widely adopted, and provides the foundation most businesses are building on

  • Perfect for connecting agents to your existing tools and data sources

Build Abstraction Layers

  • Don't couple your business logic directly to any single protocol

  • Create intermediary layers that can adapt as standards evolve

Monitor Key Indicators, watch for: 

  • Broad industry adoption

  • Major vendor backing

  • Movement from "drafting" to "factual standard" status in emerging protocols

Budget for Evolution

Implementation costs are consistently higher than initial estimates. Plan for 30-50% higher implementation costs than vendor estimates suggest.

Remember Those Three Critical Gaps?

  1. Registry/Discovery:

  • MCP team is building a centralised registry

  • ANP offers distributed alternatives

  1. Authorisation:

  • Expect OAuth-style solutions within 12 months for major protocols

  1. Reputation:

  • Hardest problem

  • Likely 18-24 months before viable solutions emerge

Market Evolution Watching - Key Signals to Monitor:

  • Protocol adoption by major enterprise software vendors

  • Cross-protocol compatibility initiatives

  • Movement toward layered architectures

  • Integration with existing enterprise systems

Strategic Framework - Your Four-Step Approach:

  1. Begin with proven solutions (MCP) for immediate business value

  2. Architect for change rather than permanent protocol choices

  3. Consider hybrid approaches that can evolve as standards mature

  4. Maintain vendor optionality through abstraction layers

The companies that get the protocol layer right will have the same advantages as those who mastered TCP/IP in the early internet era.

The agent internet is coming - make sure you're ready to connect.

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