Are you ready for the launch of the new version of Microsoft Purview in Azure on September 28, 2024? 

Microsoft Purview will now offer the benefits of a unified data governance solution to help manage and govern your data with Purview Compliance in a single offering within Azure.

Why Data Governance with Microsoft Purview?

With the rise of “data as an asset,” many organizations have adopted Microsoft’s Purview for Data Governance in Azure. The benefits are many: 

• Online Data Dictionary in the form of a Data Catalog. 

• Ability to track the movement of data through the data lifecycle, Data Lineage. 

• Organizing their data with meaningful centralized terms in the form of Data Glossary. 

• Ability to classify data using Data Classification. 

To learn more about the benefits of Data Governance, check out my first blog in this series: Why do we need Microsoft Purview for Data Governance? 

Creating a Single, Unified Data Governance Platform 

When adopting new technology, the first question we should ask ourselves is, “What is the return on investment (ROI)?   

When we build fancy front-end websites to attract new business, we track the number of leads, opportunities, conversions, and renewals. We tie our marketing efforts to actionable results in the form of ROI. We must also consider adopting new technologies that provide solid foundations. 

We must do the same when we set out to gather our multiple data sources into a single location. When organizations set out to transform their data governance platform with appropriate business rules, security, and more, we must ask some basic questions: 

1. Is the data accurate? 
2. Is the data timely? Do we have the right information at the right time?   
3. Can we ensure people have the right amount of permissions to perform their job functions—and no more?

These concepts are not an afterthought; they must be baked into the data lifecycle process. 

Ensuring Your Data is Secure 

There are a few common (and not great) strategies we tend to see when first working with new clients on their data governance.  

First, there’s the hope-and-pray method. Second, there’s the fragmentation of security within departments or domains. Third, organizations may lock down security where applicable, leaving wide gaps.   

While none of these approaches to security are great, one thing is for sure: There are serious ramifications associated with having an unsecured ecosystem. 

What mechanisms are available to ensure our data is accurate, timely, and secure? What tools do we have to secure our entire digital ecosystem? Enter stage left, Microsoft Purview. 

What’s new in Microsoft Purview for Data Governance? 

Microsoft Purvew for Data Governance has been around since the mid-2010s. After a few rebrandings and new features, many organizations have adopted the well-needed features with great success. With Purview Compliance, those who currently use some or all the various features have benefited from the holistic view to secure their environments.   

With the launch of the new version of Microsoft Purview, all organizations will benefit from the combined efforts in a single location, the familiar Azure environment. 

Microsoft Purview Portal: The Copilot Embedded Experience 

1. Data Security 

• Information Protection: Protection of data via Sensitive information types, Trainable classifiers, Data Classification 
• Data Loss Prevention: Assists with business standards and industry regulations through Data Loss Prevention Policies 
• Insider Risk Management: A Compliance Solution to prevent, minimize, detect, and contain internal risks 
• Information Barriers: Maintain data security by creating policies to prevent and restrict communication and collaboration among specific groups of users 
• Privileged Access Management: Provides granular access control over privileged admin tasks, protects against data breaches, and reduces exposure to sensitive data and critical configuration settings 

2. Risk and Compliance 

• Compliance Manager: A solution that helps you automatically assess and manage compliance across your multi-cloud environment 
• Data Lifecycle Management: A suite of tools designed to help organizations manage their data security and compliance needs effectively 
• Communication Compliance: A suite of compliance tools designed to help organizations manage risks associated with their communications
• Records Management: A crucial component of risk and compliance that enables organizations to manage their legal obligations, demonstrate compliance with regulations, and increase efficiency by regularly disposing of items that are no longer required to be retained 
• eDiscovery: A powerful feature designed to assist organizations in identifying, collecting, and auditing electronic information for legal, regulatory, or business reasons 

3. Microsoft Priva Portal 

• Privacy Risk Management: A suite of tools to help organizations address various risk scenarios, foster sound data handling practices, and include alerts for admins when policy matches are detected. 
• Subject Rights Requests: Designed to help organizations manage and respond to individual requests regarding their personal data in a secure, automated, and scalable way 
• Privacy Assessments: Streamlines privacy operations through automation, customization, and integration, enhancing compliance and data management across an organization’s digital estate 
• Consent Management: Empowers organizations to manage consumer consent effectively across their data landscape with customizable consent models and a centralized publishing process, ensuring data use aligns with user consent preferences
• Tracker Scanning: Automates the identification and management of web trackers, streamlining website compliance monitoring and enhancing privacy compliance across multiple web properties. 

4. Data Governance 

• Data Catalog: a comprehensive library for your organization’s data assets. It provides a centralized repository where you can discover, understand, and manage your data. 
• Data Estate Insights: provides valuable benefits for governance stakeholders, especially those focused on data management, compliance, and data use 
• Data Map: Microsoft Purview Data Map automates data discovery and governance by providing an up-to-date, holistic map of your data landscape with automated scanning, classification, and lineage mapping 
• Data Policy: provides several benefits for effective data governance and management through its Data Policy feature 
• Data Sharing: provides several benefits for efficient and secure Data Sharing and collaboration with external partners, cost savings and resource efficiency, and control over data access 

The new version of Microsoft Purview packs a lot of value and features in a single location.

It combines Microsoft Purview for Data Governance with Purview Compliance in a newly designed portal in Azure. No matter where you are in your data and security evolution, one thing is for sure: Microsoft has answered the need for more secure data than ever, and it has answered vigorously. 

Ready to get started with Microsoft Purview? 

If your organization is looking to secure its digital estate or improve Data Maturity, Quisitive can help.   

As Microsoft’s 2024 Analytics Partner of the Year, we know what it takes to begin treating data as an asset. We help organizations like yours understand how Microsoft Purview can uniquely benefit them, provide QuickStart solutions, and build a complete technology solution to meet their needs.

Get in touch today to learn more!

Thanks for reading ~