Explaining the Integration Problem MCP Solves

An interviewer asks: "We have 4 internal agent products and 6 systems they might want to connect to — a database, a ticket tracker, a CRM, a search index, a design tool, and an internal wiki. Walk me through what happens without a standard protocol, and what changes with one."

1. Quantify the bespoke-integration cost in this scenario.
2. Explain, mechanically (not just via analogy), how a protocol reduces that cost.
3. What does adopting the protocol not solve — what work still has to happen per integration regardless?