Knowledge layer
Search approved policies, cases, documents and structured records with source identity and freshness.
Deep Enterprise Integrations
Data strictly stays under enterprise control, and exclusively approved workflow actions can write back through secure APIs.
+ Custom APIs
Connect without surrendering control
An integration architecture for agents that work across the enterprise
Agents create value when they can use trusted knowledge and perform actions in systems of record. The integration challenge is to make those capabilities discoverable and useful while keeping credentials, schemas, policy and transaction boundaries under enterprise control.
Four integration layers leaders should separate
Tool layer
Expose narrow business actions—such as create case or draft report—instead of raw system access.
Orchestration layer
Coordinate steps, state, retries, approvals and hand-offs across multiple systems.
Control layer
Apply identity, policy, secrets, logging, budgets and environment restrictions consistently.
Experience layer
Deliver work through the channels employees already use while preserving the same controls.
Operations layer
Observe latency, failures, cost, quality and downstream business outcomes end to end.
The controlled path from request to system of record
- 01
Intent
Translate the business request into a bounded task.
- 02
Context
Retrieve only the approved, relevant records.
- 03
Tool contract
Choose an allow-listed API, MCP tool or enterprise skill.
- 04
Policy
Check identity, purpose, data class and transaction limit.
- 05
Commit
Execute or pause for approval before changing system state.
- 06
Reconcile
Verify the system outcome and write evidence to the audit trail.
Choose the right connection pattern
| Pattern | Best for | Leadership consideration |
|---|---|---|
| Read-only retrieval | Policies, knowledge and case context | Freshness, source permissions and citation quality |
| Controlled API | Stable, high-volume business transactions | Schema ownership, idempotency and service levels |
| MCP or tool gateway | Reusable tools across agents and models | Central catalogue, authentication and policy enforcement |
| Browser or computer use | Legacy systems without suitable APIs | Isolation, visual change risk and approval requirements |
| Event trigger | Scheduled or system-initiated workflows | Duplicate handling, ownership and failure queues |
Architecture decisions to make early
- 01
Which systems remain the authoritative source after an agent acts?
- 02
Will credentials belong to the user, the workflow or a managed service identity?
- 03
How will the agent prove a write succeeded rather than trusting a screen message?
- 04
Where are schemas, tool descriptions and approval policies versioned?
- 05
What happens when a connected system is slow, unavailable or returns conflicting data?
Good agent integration does not connect everything to everything. It exposes the smallest useful capabilities through stable contracts, then verifies every meaningful state change.