What is Microsoft Purview?
Posted on February 8, 2024 by Rob May
Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive set of products, created to meet the increasing demands of data governance, security, and risk, compliance, and overall data management. Its launch represents a major improvement in how organisations can handle and protect their data across different environments.
At the core of Microsoft Purview is the integration of former Azure Purview and Microsoft 365 compliance solutions, now unified under a single platform. This integration is aimed at resolving issues related to fragmented data across organisations, enhancing data protection and governance, and simplifying traditional IT management roles.
Key features of Microsoft Purview include:
Data Security: Purview offers a robust suite of data security solutions, such as Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention, Information Barriers, Information Protection, Insider Risk Management, and Privileged Access Management. These tools are designed to discover and protect sensitive information, ensuring comprehensive data security across your organisation.
Data Governance: The platform includes unified data governance solutions, managing data services across on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments. This encompasses Azure storage services, Power BI, SQL, Hive, Amazon S3, and more. Tools like Microsoft Purview Data Catalog, Data Estate Insights, Data Map, Data Policy, and Data Sharing enable organisations to map, identify, manage, and secure data effectively.
Risk and Compliance: Purview also incorporates risk and compliance solutions to aid organisations in managing compliance risks and meeting regulatory requirements. Tools such as Microsoft Purview Audit, Communication Compliance, Compliance Manager, Data Lifecycle Management, and eDiscovery are included in this suite.
Data Map: This feature automates data discovery by scanning and classifying assets across your data estate, providing a holistic view of your data landscape. It serves as the foundation for data discovery and governance, facilitating easy and efficient management of enterprise data.
Data Catalog: The Data Catalog enables quick and easy data discovery for both business and technical users. It offers advanced data curation features and allows for visual tracing of data asset lineage.
Data Estate Insights: This tool offers governance stakeholders, like chief data officers, a comprehensive overview of the data estate, providing actionable insights into governance gaps.
Data Sharing and Data Policy: Purview enables secure internal and cross-organisation data sharing, along with central management of data sharing relationships. The Data Policy app simplifies the management of data access across various sources, ensuring security and compliance.
Microsoft Purview, with its advanced capabilities, addresses traditional challenges faced by data consumers, producers, and security administrators. It simplifies the discovery and understanding of data sources, enhances the security of data, and ensures compliance with evolving digital realities.
Microsoft Purview offers a major advancement in data management, delivering a holistic, integrated solution that tackles the difficulties and demands of contemporary data governance, security, and compliance.
You can learn more here
Microsoft Purview is a critical tool in the journey towards a secure and correct implementation of Microsoft 365 Copilot. It’s one of the essentials you NEED to ensure you have implemented. For more guidance follow the ramsac M365 Copilot pre-flight checklist to be sure you’re approaching this properly. Or talk to our AI digital transformation team for further help and advice.