Businesses are finding it increasingly challenging to manage sensitive information, ensure compliance, and maintain security. Luckily, Microsoft Purview is a solution designed to help companies tackle these challenges by offering powerful tools for data governance, compliance, risk management, and data loss prevention. Here, we’ll explore the key aspects of Microsoft Purview, including its features, uses, benefits, and licensing.
What is Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance and compliance solution within the Microsoft ecosystem, primarily integrated with Microsoft 365 and Azure services. Originally introduced as Azure Purview, Microsoft rebranded to cover a wider range of functionalities for managing, securing, and governing data across multiple platforms and services.
Purview provides a comprehensive suite of tools that helps businesses identify, classify, and protect sensitive data, both within the cloud and on-premises. With Purview, companies can ensure data remains secure and compliant with privacy regulations, even as it moves between various departments, applications, and devices.
Purview is especially useful for companies in heavily regulated industries, such as finance, healthcare, and legal sectors, where maintaining strict control over data handling and regulatory compliance is critical. But, as privacy and data protection concerns grow across industries, Microsoft Purview is becoming more and more relevant to any business looking for a proactive approach to data governance and risk management.
What do you use Microsoft Purview for?
Purview is extremely versatile. Let’s explore some of the main uses of Microsoft’s powerful tool:
Data discovery and classification
Purview allows businesses to automatically scan, identify, and classify data across different environments, including cloud storage, on-premises data warehouses, and third-party services. Using AI-driven data mapping, Purview can locate sensitive data like personally identifiable information (PII) and intellectual property, helping businesses maintain a clear overview of their data landscape.
Data protection and information security
Microsoft Purview’s information protection features mean businesses can enforce security policies around sensitive data. With Purview, companies can apply encryption, access restrictions, and other security measures to specific data sets, reducing the risk of unauthorised access and data breaches.
Compliance management and reporting
Purview offers tools to monitor compliance with industry regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA, meaning businesses can automate compliance-related tasks and generate audit reports, helping them meet legal requirements and avoid potential fines or reputational damage.
Risk management and insider threat detection
Using behavioural analytics, Microsoft Purview can also help businesses detect insider threats and unusual activities, such as data exfiltration attempts. By monitoring for anomalies, Purview helps businesses take proactive steps to mitigate risks.
Data lifecycle management
Purview helps manage data across its entire lifecycle, from creation to deletion. With retention and deletion policies, businesses can ensure data is stored only as long as necessary, reducing storage costs and maintaining data hygiene.
Data lineage tracking
Microsoft Purview includes data lineage capabilities, helping businesses track the flow and transformation of data across systems. This feature is particularly valuable for auditing, troubleshooting, and understanding the impact of data changes on analytics and reporting.
Why you should be using Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview offers many benefits for businesses looking to achieve a comprehensive, scalable approach to data management. Here’s why Purview can make a significant difference in your IT operations and overall business success:
Better data security
Purview’s advanced security and information protection features help businesses prevent data breaches and unauthorised access. By implementing access controls, encryption, and identity-based policies, Purview reduces vulnerabilities associated with data handling.
Improved compliance and risk management
With strict data protection regulations emerging worldwide, maintaining compliance is no longer optional. Microsoft Purview simplifies the compliance process with built-in regulatory templates, automated assessments, and policy enforcement. Businesses can monitor compliance in real-time, which is crucial for risk mitigation and reputation management.
Operational efficiency and cost savings
Managing data manually can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Purview automates tasks like data discovery, classification, and policy enforcement, significantly reducing the workload for IT teams. Plus, the cost savings from optimising data storage, reducing redundancies, and improving data accuracy can be substantial.
Empowerment of data-driven decision making
Purview allows businesses a high degree of visibility into their data, providing insights that can drive better decision-making. By consolidating data management tools, Purview also enables faster access to critical information, helping teams respond to market changes with greater agility.
Scalability and flexibility
Microsoft Purview is designed to support organisations of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises. As companies grow and their data management needs expand, Purview can scale with them. Plus, Purview integrates seamlessly with other Microsoft products, making it a flexible addition to the Microsoft ecosystem.
Key features of Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview offers a robust set of features tailored to meet the evolving needs of data-driven businesses. Below are some of its most notable features and benefits:
| Unified Data Map | Purview’s Unified Data Map feature provides a comprehensive view of data assets across on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments. This dynamic, up-to-date data map helps organisations understand their data inventory and monitor sensitive data. |
| Sensitive Data Classification and Labelling | With automated classification and labelling, Purview helps businesses identify sensitive information and apply protection policies across platforms. This simplifies data protection by tagging data according to risk level and sensitivity. |
| Data Loss Prevention (DLP) | Microsoft Purview includes DLP policies that prevent sensitive data from being shared inappropriately, even in apps outside of the Microsoft ecosystem. DLP policies can be configured to alert users, restrict sharing, or block data altogether, enhancing security controls. |
| Compliance Manager | Purview’s Compliance Manager offers templates for various regulations, including GDPR, HIPAA, and ISO standards. This feature allows organisations to assess compliance status, manage tasks, and generate reports that can assist in audits. |
| Insider Risk Management | By tracking and analysing user activity, Purview can detect potential insider threats. This feature leverages behavioural insights to identify unusual actions that may indicate malicious intent or accidental data leaks. |
| Endpoint DLP and Microsoft Defender Integration | Integration with Microsoft Defender for Endpoint enhances Purview’s DLP capabilities, extending data protection to endpoints such as laptops and mobile devices. This end-to-end data protection framework is essential in today’s remote work environment. |
| Data Lineage Visualisation | Purview’s data lineage tracking provides a visual representation of how data moves and transforms across different processes, helping organisations understand the data flow and spot potential bottlenecks or compliance risks. |
Microsoft Purview licensing and costs
Microsoft Purview offers flexible licensing options based on the features you require and the scale of your organisation. Purview’s licensing is generally divided into different tiers, each offering access to specific tools for data governance, risk management, and information protection.
Businesses can choose from pay-as-you-go pricing for Azure Purview features or bundled pricing as part of Microsoft 365 E5 Compliance and Information Protection packages. Azure Purview’s pricing is based on the amount of data scanned, making it adaptable to different data volumes and organisation sizes. For a detailed cost estimate, we recommend contacting Mintivo to help you choose the right plan for your needs!
Explore Microsoft Purview with Mintivo
By automating data discovery, enforcing compliance policies, and improving data security, Purview empowers businesses to take control of their data landscape. Whether you’re a small business seeking cost-effective compliance tools or a large enterprise aiming for enhanced data visibility, Purview offers scalable solutions to meet your goals.
Ready to explore how Microsoft Purview can transform your organisation’s data management and compliance strategy? Contact Mintivo today and let us help you implement the right solutions to enhance security, compliance, and operational efficiency across your data environment.
