CData Unveils ConnectAI: Bridging AI Systems with Enterprise Data Sources

CData Introduces ConnectAI: A Bridge Between AI and Enterprise Data

CData Software Inc., a leader in data connectivity solutions, has unveiled ConnectAI, a groundbreaking platform designed to address a critical challenge in the AI landscape: providing AI systems with access to real-time, governed enterprise data 1

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. This new offering aims to revolutionize how AI assistants, workflow builders, and agent frameworks interact with enterprise data sources.

Addressing the AI Data Access Challenge

Recent studies have highlighted a significant hurdle in AI adoption, with the MIT 'State of AI in Business 2025' report indicating that 95% of AI pilot projects fail due to issues such as brittle workflows and lack of contextual learning 2

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. ConnectAI seeks to overcome these challenges by providing AI systems with the necessary business context and data access.

Key Features of ConnectAI

1. Extensive Data Source Connectivity: ConnectAI offers real-time, governed access to more than 300 enterprise data sources, including databases, applications, and APIs 1

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2. Model Context Protocol (MCP) Support: The platform utilizes MCP, described as a 'USB-C for connectivity for AI,' allowing seamless integration with various AI platforms such as Anthropic's Claude, LangChain, and OpenAI's ChatGPT 1

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3. SQL-92 Standardization: CData's connectors standardize communication using SQL-92, enabling a unified language for interacting with diverse data sources 1

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4. Performance Optimization: ConnectAI is designed to minimize token consumption and optimize query performance, ensuring efficient data retrieval for AI systems 1

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Enhancing AI Capabilities and Governance

ConnectAI builds upon CData's existing Connectivity Platform, offering a managed MCP platform that provides data connectivity for AI agents, assistants, applications, and workflows. The platform accesses data in-place within source systems, preserving data semantics and relationships crucial for AI comprehension 2

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Impact on Enterprise AI Adoption

By providing governed, live access to data across hundreds of systems with contextual intelligence, ConnectAI aims to transform AI from a productivity experiment into a trusted enterprise tool. This approach addresses critical concerns around data security, governance, and semantic understanding in AI applications 2

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Future Developments and Industry Collaboration

CData plans to expand ConnectAI's capabilities in early 2026, offering customization features that will allow customers to limit agent access to specific tools. The company is also engaging with regional systems integrators and exploring partnerships with global system integrators to incorporate ConnectAI into their AI strategies and services 2

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