How CVS Health is Unifying API Infrastructure for AI-Driven Innovation
CVS Health selected Zuplo as their gateway standard to consolidate fragmented API infrastructure, enable secure AI integration via MCP, and establish centralized governance across all teams.
Key Outcomes
Gateway Consolidation
Single unified platform for all teams
Centralized Governance
Unified security and compliance controls
AI/MCP Ready
Secure API exposure for AI applications
Future Growth
Foundation for broader adoption
Healthcare Innovation at Scale
CVS Health operates in a highly regulated healthcare environment where uptime, security, and trust matter every minute of the day. As their digital footprint continues to grow across applications and APIs, the team needed better visibility into risk and a more proactive way to stay ahead of issues.
Everything has to work at scale, 24x7, without slowing the business or disrupting patient-facing services. With AI becoming increasingly important to their operations, CVS recognized the need for a robust API gateway that could securely expose their APIs to AI bots and applications.
Fragmented Infrastructure, Urgent AI Needs
CVS has traditionally allowed each team to choose its own API gateway, resulting in several solutions running across the organization. Until recently, consolidating these disparate gateways under a single, unified platform was not a business priority.
Fragmented Gateway Landscape
Different teams running separate API gateway solutions across the organization, with no unified approach to API management.
No Centralized Governance
Lack of unified platform for security policies and API traffic management, creating compliance and visibility gaps.
Urgent AI Priority
Critical business need to securely expose APIs to internal and external AI bots and applications using MCP (Model Context Protocol).
Operational Risk
Increased risk and operational inefficiency from decentralized management across multiple gateway solutions.
Zuplo as the Gateway Standard
As AI became more important to CVS, the need for a robust API gateway that can securely expose CVS APIs to AI bots (using MCP) grew critical. CVS recognized that fragmented gateway management creates risk and hampers their strategic plans for AI-driven initiatives.
Centralized Control
Unified governance of API and AI traffic across all teams and applications.
Developer Experience
Enhanced developer experience with faster onboarding and self-service capabilities.
Reduced Risk
Lower operational risk through consistent security policies and centralized management.
Future Agility
Greater agility for future innovation, including AI and MCP-driven initiatives.
Strategic Partnership
Thanks to the trusted relationships built by the Akamai team and timely, targeted discussions with senior CVS stakeholders, Zuplo was presented as a strategic fit:
- Long-term gateway consolidation strategy
- Security team governance requirements
- AI and MCP readiness capabilities
- Enterprise-grade scalability
Initial Engagement
CVS selected Zuplo as their gateway standard. The initial contract establishes a presence and gives their app owners hands-on experience:
- Operationalize Zuplo in their environment
- Raise awareness across app teams
- Skip procurement cycles and bakeoffs
- Direct comparison with existing solutions
A Pivotal Moment
This win represents a chance to consolidate CVS's API and AI infrastructure, drive security and governance, and position Akamai/Zuplo as an essential enabler of CVS's future innovation.
Gateway Consolidation
A clear path to unify all teams under one gateway solution, eliminating fragmentation and establishing CVS's API governance standard.
Centralized Security
Single platform for security policies and API traffic governance, enabling CVS's security teams to maintain consistent controls.
AI-Ready Infrastructure
Secure MCP integration capabilities to safely expose APIs to AI bots and applications, supporting CVS's AI-driven initiatives.
Operational Efficiency
Reduced operational overhead through centralized management, with faster onboarding and enhanced developer experience.
Looking Ahead
Next Steps
The Akamai and Zuplo teams will proactively engage with CVS to ensure a strong onboarding experience. Our immediate goal is to deliver on CVS's expectations for platform functionality and developer experience, addressing their needs quickly and effectively.
Success at this early stage will help build trust and set the standard for future collaboration. This initial engagement is just the start, positioning us for a significantly larger future deal as we replace incumbent vendors.
Ready to Consolidate Your API Infrastructure?
See how Zuplo on Akamai can help unify your API gateway landscape and prepare for AI-driven innovation.