MCP and A2A: Revolutionizing interconnection and collaboration among AI agents
Conference (INTERMEDIATE level)
The artificial intelligence ecosystem is rapidly evolving toward more complex and distributed agent systems. To realize their full potential, these agents need robust standards for interacting with their environment and collaborating with one another. This technical talk delves into two open and complementary protocols that are shaping this future: the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the Agent-to-Agent Protocol (A2A).
We will first explore MCP, initiated by Anthropic, which standardizes how AI agents (and LLM-based applications) access and use external tools, APIs, and data sources. We will detail its client-server architecture and how it enables modular and secure integration of external capabilities.
Next, we’ll look at A2A, a protocol led by Google and its partners, designed to enable seamless communication and collaboration among heterogeneous AI agents. We’ll examine its key concepts, such as “Agent Cards” for capability discovery, distributed task management, and support for multimodal communications.
Finally, this talk will highlight the synergy between MCP and A2A, illustrating how their combined use enables the development of sophisticated AI applications in which specialized agents can leverage tools via MCP while collaborating via A2A to solve complex problems. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of these protocols, their use cases, and their impact on the future development of intelligent agent systems.
We will first explore MCP, initiated by Anthropic, which standardizes how AI agents (and LLM-based applications) access and use external tools, APIs, and data sources. We will detail its client-server architecture and how it enables modular and secure integration of external capabilities.
Next, we’ll look at A2A, a protocol led by Google and its partners, designed to enable seamless communication and collaboration among heterogeneous AI agents. We’ll examine its key concepts, such as “Agent Cards” for capability discovery, distributed task management, and support for multimodal communications.
Finally, this talk will highlight the synergy between MCP and A2A, illustrating how their combined use enables the development of sophisticated AI applications in which specialized agents can leverage tools via MCP while collaborating via A2A to solve complex problems. Participants will leave with a clear understanding of these protocols, their use cases, and their impact on the future development of intelligent agent systems.
Laurent Grangeau
Google
Laurent Grangeau is a Cloud Solution Architect with more than 10+ years of experience. Former Java developer, he has since developed in .NET, with Agile and DevOps mindsets. He has been experimenting with cloud providers for more than 5+ years. Docker enthusiast from the beginning, he has experienced with building microservices and distributed systems. He loves to automate things and run distributed applications at scale.
Tony Jarriault
Capgemini
Ever since I first got into computer science, I’ve always been fascinated by issues related to digital security—and I’m also a cloud addict. The cloud gives us tremendous agility, opening the door to innovation!
As a technical lead for the build and operation of managed platforms, I’ve helped coach teams on technical aspects, which allows me to present topics I’m passionate about at public events (e.g., Devoxx, DevFest, etc.).
Today, I help clients adopt the public cloud—whether for B2C or B2B applications—to address the following challenges: security, FinOps, and sustainability, with the goal of reducing the applications’ carbon footprint.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
As a technical lead for the build and operation of managed platforms, I’ve helped coach teams on technical aspects, which allows me to present topics I’m passionate about at public events (e.g., Devoxx, DevFest, etc.).
Today, I help clients adopt the public cloud—whether for B2C or B2B applications—to address the following challenges: security, FinOps, and sustainability, with the goal of reducing the applications’ carbon footprint.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)