By Isaac Walker

In today’s digital, data-filled world, managing and protecting sensitive information is more complex than ever. With the rise of cloud services, remote work, and AI-powered tools, data governance has become a critical pillar of cybersecurity. That’s where Microsoft Purview comes in.

What is Microsoft Purview?

Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive suite of data governance, security, and compliance solutions, designed to help your organization govern, protect, and manage data, wherever it exists. It addresses the fragmentation of data across environments and the lack of visibility that often hinders effective governance and compliance management.

Microsoft Purview is built to manage, classify and protect all data, whether it lives on-premises, in Microsoft 365, or across multi-cloud environments. This over-arching reach allows it to act as a unified platform that touches all possible data locations. It acts as a firm compliance compass, helping your organization meet regulatory requirements and maintain control over your information.

Why It Matters

With the increasing frequency and severity of data breaches, insider threats, and compliance violations, the need for businesses to maintain a secure grip on their data is rapidly growing. Microsoft Purview enables a proactive approach to data governance by offering:

  • Automated data classification using built-in and custom sensitive information types.
  • End-to-end visibility into where your data resides and how it’s being used.
  • Risk-based insights to identify and mitigate potential data exposure.
  • Policy enforcement to ensure data is handled according to standards implemented by your organization.

Key Features That Make a Difference

  1. Data Map & Unified Catalog: Automatically scan and register data assets across your environment, helping you understand what data you have, where it’s stored, and how it flows. This process supports data discovery, lineage, and classification.
  2. Information Protection: Apply sensitivity labels and encryption to protect data at rest, in transit, and in use, across all possible data locations.
  3. Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Prevent accidental or malicious data leaks by setting up DLP policies that monitor and restrict identified risky behavior.
  4. Insider Risk Management: Detect and respond to insider threats using behavioral analytics and machine learning.
  5. Compliance Manager: Track your compliance posture with real-time scoring and actionable recommendations based on common frameworks like NIST 800-171, HIPAA, and others.

Real-World Scenario

Let’s say your HR department stores employee records in SharePoint, while the Finance department uses Azure SQL databases. With Microsoft Purview, you can automatically classify both data sets, apply consistent protection policies aligned with your security standards, and generate audit-ready reports, all from a single, unified control portal.

Getting Started

If your organization is already using Microsoft 365, you may already have access to some Purview capabilities depending on your current licensing tier. The new Purview portal offers a streamlined experience, guiding you through basic setup with teaching bubbles, templates, and a centralized dashboard for all governance, security, and compliance tools. Start by identifying your most sensitive data, then use Purview’s built-in tools to classify, label, and protect this data. Microsoft also provides a free version of its governance solutions to help you get started or try out the tools.

If you need help getting started with Purview, contact us at 503-726-5933 or email us at info@kamind.com.