C1 vs. RunLayer

Everything RunLayer does at the MCP layer — plus the identity and lifecycle controls it can't.

RunLayer locks down MCP tool calls. C1 does that and governs who gets access to those tools, what they're allowed to do, and when access ends.

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See how C1 compares to RunLayer

RunLayer

MCP tool-level permissions

Policy engine scopes every MCP tool call — allow, deny, or require approval per tool, per agent, per user.

Core strength: tool-level allow/deny rules for MCP calls.

Runtime call monitoring & logging

Every tool call logged with full identity context — who triggered it, which agent, which credential, what policy applied.

Tool call logging with session-level context.

Policy enforcement on agent actions

Real-time policy evaluation: block, allow, or route to approval based on agent identity, tool sensitivity, and context.

Rule-based enforcement at the MCP gateway.

Credential injection for tool calls

Native credential vault with auto-rotation and instant revocation — no external dependency.

1Password partnership for credential injection.

Approval workflows for sensitive tools

Self-service requests with policy-based auto-approval. Escalation paths, time-bound grants, Slack/Teams integration.

Not available — permissions are static.

Agent identity & ownership

First-class agent identities: credentials, policies, lifecycle states, assigned owners. Agents are treated like employees.

Runtime monitoring of agent actions; no persistent agent identity.

Access certifications for AI tools

Automated periodic reviews: "Should this agent still have access to this MCP server?" Same workflow as SaaS app reviews.

Not available.

JIT (just-in-time) access

Time-boxed access grants that auto-expire. An agent gets production MCP access for 2 hours, then it's gone.

Not available — access is persistent until manually removed.

Provisioning & deprovisioning

Full joiner-mover-leaver lifecycle. Onboard an agent, move it between teams, offboard it — access follows automatically.

No lifecycle management; relies on Okta/Entra for identity.

MCP catalog & pass-through

Thousands of MCPs ready to connect, plus pass-through support for any MCP server.

MCP-connected tools only — bring your own servers.

Credential execution modes

Run tools as a service account (one license, shared across agents) or pass through individual user credentials — match the mode to the use case and save on per-seat costs.

1Password partnership for credential injection; no service account mode.

Scope beyond MCP

Governs AI tools, MCP servers, and all enterprise apps (GitHub, Salesforce, AWS, etc.) in one platform.

MCP-connected tools only.

Top 5 reasons leaders choose C1 over RunLayer

Time to value

“The biggest ROI we have seen is in time. We have communicated to leadership and management our estimates and I'm very confident that the tool pays for itself.”

Roberto Mateo, VP of It Business Operations

Full visibility and control

“A huge win for me is the overall visibility. I don't have to log into ten different places to figure out who has access to what – I can just go to C1.”

Paul Yoo, Head of Security Platform

Simple, intuitive design

“One day you requested AWS access through IT tickets. The next day you didn't. We didn't have to roll it out in stages — just a clean cutover.”

Stephen Darling, Staff Infrastructure Engineer

Committed to innovation

“None of the other options in the market were simple for us. C1 was incredibly inquisitive, collaborative, iterative, and innovative.”

Tim Lisko, Director of Product and Infrastructure Security

Real security impact

“We've appreciably improved our security posture without spending a bunch of time and money, which is a huge benefit for our customers.”

Matthew Sullivan, Infrastructure Security Team Leader

Why C1 over RunLayer

What a RunLayer evaluator gets with C1

MCP controls with the identity layer underneath

RunLayer scopes tool calls. C1 scopes tool calls and answers: who is this agent? Who owns it? What's it allowed to access? When does that access expire? Every tool call is mediated through a policy-aware proxy with full identity context.

Access in seconds, governed from day one

End users request access to AI tools through self-service. Policies auto-approve what's safe — no tickets, no waiting. Sensitive tools route to the right approver. Access is time-bound by default. The fastest path to AI is the safest path.

One platform for agents, humans, and everything they touch

C1 governs the AI layer and the 300+ enterprise applications behind it. When an agent needs GitHub access and a human needs Salesforce access, it's the same provisioning engine, the same policies, the same audit trail. No stitching together point solutions.

Compliance evidence without extra work

Every tool call, every approval, every access change — logged with full identity context. Extend existing access review workflows to cover AI tools alongside SaaS apps. Compliance reporting and evidence generation built in.

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