Choose an Integration Pattern
Choose the right integration pattern for how your agents, tools, and external applications communicate. The pattern you pick determines who initiates the call, how data flows, and whether the interaction is synchronous or event-driven.
After reading this page, you will be able to:
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Choose the integration pattern that fits your use case
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Apply appropriate authentication for external integration
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Select the right communication protocol for your integration scenario
Integration scenarios
Agentic Data Plane supports these integration scenarios, based on who initiates the call and where the caller is located:
| Scenario | Description | When to Use | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
Agent needs capabilities |
Your agent invokes MCP tools to fetch data, call APIs, or access external systems on-demand |
Agent-initiated, synchronous, interactive workflows |
|
External system calls agent |
Your application or agent (hosted outside Agentic Data Plane) calls Agentic Data Plane agents using the A2A protocol |
Backend services, CLI tools, custom UIs, multi-platform agent workflows |
|
Chat or schedule starts the agent |
A trigger invokes the agent from a Microsoft Teams chat or on a recurring schedule |
People chatting with an agent in Teams, or recurring automated runs |
|
AI client uses MCP tools directly |
An external AI client, such as an IDE assistant or desktop chat app, calls an Agentic Data Plane MCP server without going through an agent |
Giving people’s own AI tools governed access to the same MCP servers your agents use |
Common use cases by pattern
Each integration pattern serves different scenarios based on how data flows and who initiates the interaction.
Agent needs capabilities (MCP tools)
Use MCP tools when your agent needs on-demand access to data or capabilities.
The agent decides when to invoke tools as part of its reasoning process. It waits for responses before continuing.
This pattern works well for interactive workflows: customer support lookups, approval flows, or context-aware chatbots.
For implementation details, see How MCP Servers Work.
External system calls agent
Use external integration when your applications, services, or agents hosted outside Agentic Data Plane need to call Agentic Data Plane agents.
External systems send requests using the A2A protocol and receive either a direct response or a streamed task. This works for backend services, CLI tools, custom UIs, and agents hosted on other platforms.
Common scenarios include backend services analyzing data as part of workflows, CLI tools invoking agents for batch tasks, custom UIs displaying agent responses, CRM agents coordinating with Redpanda agents, and multi-platform workflows spanning different infrastructure.
To learn how the A2A protocol enables this integration, see Connect Agents with A2A.
Security considerations for external integration
When integrating external applications with Agentic Data Plane agents, protect credentials and tokens.
Protect service account credentials
Store the client ID and secret in secure credential stores, not in code. Use environment variables or your organization’s secrets manager. Rotate credentials if compromised and restrict access based on the principle of least privilege.
Protect access tokens
An access token lets its holder act as that service account, including invoking any agent the account has permission to call. See Control Who Can Do What. Treat access tokens like passwords and never log them or include them in error messages.
