Most small businesses that want AI to work with their business data hit the same wall. The data lives in desktop software such as QuoteWerks, Act!, or Sage, and the only way to get it into Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot is to export a spreadsheet and paste it in. That is slow, it goes stale the moment you finish, and it puts client data into tools nobody approved. The CloudTop Office API Platform takes a different route. It gives the applications CloudTop hosts a secure API, with REST and GraphQL for developers and MCP for AI assistants, so approved data can be reached directly without exporting it, copying the database, or opening it to the internet.
What the API Platform is
It is an API layer that runs alongside the applications CloudTop Office already hosts for you, with QuoteWerks, Act!, and Sage among them. Instead of reaching into the database, other software asks the API for specific information and gets clean, structured data back. There are three ways in. REST suits most integrations and reporting tools. GraphQL suits developers who want to request exactly the fields they need. And MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the open standard many AI assistants use to connect to outside tools, which is what lets an assistant query your data directly where the tool supports it. Where it does not, the REST API covers it. For existing CloudTop clients, the page says there is nothing to migrate and nothing to install; the API is read-only by default.
Why it was built around control
Connecting business data to outside tools is useful, and it is also exactly where data leaks start. So the platform is built on four rules that put the business, not the tool, in charge of what leaves.
Those four rules line up closely with the controls we have recommended in our posts on the security risk behind AI tools and a practical firm AI policy: decide which data an AI tool may see, keep it to approved views, and keep a record. The difference is that here those controls are part of the connection itself, instead of depending on every staff member remembering the rules.
What businesses are using it for
CloudTop lists live client uses on its API site. Three give a good sense of the range:
The details of each are on CloudTop’s API case studies page.
Who it is for
CloudTop describes three groups. Existing clients who already run QuoteWerks, Act!, or Sage with CloudTop can switch an API on for that application. Businesses whose software still sits on a server in the office can move it to CloudTop hosting and have an API on their data from the start. And software publishers whose products small companies run can offer their customers an API and AI access without building either themselves. If your applications are already hosted with CloudTop, the first group is the shortest path; our QuoteWerks hosting and Act! hosting pages cover the hosting side. Developers can start with the API documentation.
API Platform questions
What is MCP, and why does it matter here?
MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is an open standard AI assistants use to connect to outside tools and data. With an MCP connection, an assistant can ask your hosted application a question directly instead of you pasting exported data into a chat.
Which AI tools does it work with?
CloudTop lists Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Gemini, connecting through MCP where the tool supports it and through the REST API everywhere else.
Can the API change or delete my data?
Access is read-only by default and limited to views you approve. CloudTop also describes scoped access, so confirm with the team exactly what any connection you set up can do.
Do I have to move my software to use it?
If CloudTop already hosts your application, no; the API is switched on beside it. If your software still runs on an office server, the API comes as part of moving it to CloudTop hosting.
Want an API on the applications you already run?
Tell CloudTop Office what you host and what you want to connect. The team replies within one business day.
Get started with the API
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