Case Study: J.W. Pepper centralizes MCP governance with Tray.ai

J.W. Pepper centralizes MCP tools with Tray.ai and cuts raw database access to zero

J.W. Pepper, a sheet music retailer, faced a significant challenge as the rapid, ungoverned adoption of AI agents using Model Context Protocol (MCP) tools outpaced its IT department's ability to establish security guardrails. This led to tools inheriting full user permissions with no clear ownership, visibility, or audit trail, creating substantial risk. To address this, they partnered with the vendor Tray.ai and implemented its Agent Gateway for MCP product.

The solution from Tray.ai involved centralizing MCP servers and tools to provide governance and control. J.W. Pepper shifted from exposing raw tools to building fine-tuned workflows that represented specific, secure business actions. This approach removed risk, provided a clear audit trail, and enabled the company to safely scale employee AI adoption through the Microsoft Copilot interface they already used, transforming IT into a service organization that empowers AI use.

J.W. Pepper