Unlocking Data Governance
and Compliance with
Microsoft Purview
Unlocking Data Governance and Compliance with Microsoft Purview
In today’s data-driven world, organizations are handling an ever-growing volume of information, spanning cloud and on-premises environments. Managing, protecting, and governing this data is critical for regulatory compliance, risk mitigation, and operational efficiency. Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive solution that helps businesses manage their data securely while enabling deeper insights and collaboration.
At Vigilant, we understand that data governance is no longer optional, it’s a necessity. Let’s explore how Microsoft Purview can transform your organization’s data governance strategy and how it can be applied in real-world scenarios.
Also explore: Vigilant’s Microsoft Support Services.
What is Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview is an integrated data governance and compliance platform that unifies data discovery, classification, and protection across hybrid and multi-cloud environments. It helps organizations:
- Gain visibility into their data landscape
- Classify and label sensitive data
- Monitor and enforce regulatory compliance
- Protect data from unauthorized access
- Ensure data lifecycle management and retention
Why Microsoft Purview Matters
Data is one of the most valuable assets of any organization, but without proper governance, it can also become a major liability. Microsoft Purview is crucial because it:
Reduces Compliance Risks
Helps businesses stay compliant with global regulations such as GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA by providing automated data classification, risk analysis, and regulatory reporting.
Enhances Data Security
Prevents unauthorized access, mitigates insider threats, and secures sensitive data across various platforms.
Improves Operational Efficiency
Automates data discovery, classification, and retention policies, reducing the manual workload on IT and compliance teams.
Enables Informed Decision-Making
Provides comprehensive visibility into data assets, helping organizations make data-driven business decisions.
Supports Hybrid and Multi-Cloud Environments
Works across Microsoft Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, on-premises, and third-party data sources, ensuring seamless governance across all data repositories.
How Vigilant is Making a Difference with Microsoft Purview
At Vigilant, we leverage Microsoft Purview to help organizations take control of their data, ensuring security, compliance, and efficiency. Our expertise allows businesses to:
Streamline Compliance Audits
We implement automated compliance reporting and risk assessments, reducing the burden on internal teams.
Enhance Data Protection
Vigilant configures Purview’s Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies to prevent unauthorized access and secure sensitive data across cloud and on-prem environments.
Optimize Data Management Strategies
We assist organizations in setting up retention and archiving policies that align with industry regulations, reducing data sprawl and unnecessary storage costs.
Mitigate Insider Threats
Through behavioral analytics and access controls, we help businesses detect and prevent data breaches before they occur.
Improve Governance Across Multi-Cloud Environments:
Our team ensures seamless integration of Microsoft Purview with diverse data sources, enhancing visibility and control over organizational data assets.
By partnering with Vigilant, organizations gain a strategic advantage in managing their data effectively, reducing compliance risks, and unlocking new opportunities for data-driven decision-making.
Key Use Cases of Microsoft Purview
- Data Discovery and Classification for Regulatory Compliance
Challenge: Many organizations struggle to locate and classify sensitive data, leading to compliance risks with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA.
Solution with Purview:
Automatically scans and classifies data across Azure, Microsoft 365, AWS, SQL servers, and on-premises systems.
Identifies Personally Identifiable Information (PII), financial records, and confidential business data.
Provides compliance insights and recommendations for regulatory reporting.
Real-World Example: A healthcare provider uses Microsoft Purview to classify patient records, ensuring compliance with HIPAA while preventing unauthorized access to sensitive health data.
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Financial Services
Challenge: Financial institutions must prevent the leakage of confidential customer and transaction data.
Solution with Purview:
Detects and prevents sensitive data (e.g., credit card numbers, SSNs) from being shared outside authorized boundaries.
Enforces security policies in Microsoft 365, Teams, and SharePoint.
Provides alerts and remediation actions to prevent data breaches.
Real-World Example: A bank deploys Microsoft Purview DLP policies to ensure sensitive customer data cannot be emailed externally or stored in unauthorized locations, reducing fraud risk.
- Information Lifecycle Management for Legal and Compliance Teams
Challenge: Organizations need to retain, archive, and delete data according to industry regulations.
Solution with Purview:
Implements retention labels and policies to automate data lifecycle management.
Helps eDiscovery teams locate relevant documents quickly for legal investigations.
Reduces data storage costs by identifying redundant and obsolete files.
Real-World Example: A global insurance company uses Microsoft Purview to retain claim records for seven years per industry regulations, ensuring defensible deletion and audit readiness.
- Insider Risk Management for Corporate Security
Challenge: Organizations face threats from insider actions, whether malicious or accidental data leaks.
Solution with Purview:
Monitors user activities and detects anomalies (e.g., mass downloads, unusual file sharing).
Applies behavioral analytics to identify potential insider threats.
Provides security teams with real-time alerts and risk scores.
Real-World Example: A manufacturing company detects an employee attempting to share trade secrets via email. Microsoft Purview flags the activity, enabling swift intervention before data exfiltration.
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Data Access Governance for Hybrid Environments
Challenge: Organizations operating in multi-cloud environments struggle with controlling data access across platforms.
Solution with Purview:
Provides role-based access controls (RBAC) for structured and unstructured data.
Ensures only authorized users can access critical business data.
Tracks data lineage to maintain transparency over how data is used and shared.
Real-World Example: A retail enterprise secures its customer loyalty program data by granting access only to authorized marketing teams while blocking external sharing.
Microsoft Purview vs. Other Data Governance Tools
While Microsoft Purview offers a powerful suite of capabilities, organizations often compare it to other solutions such as Collibra, Informatica, and BigID. Here’s how Purview stands out:
Seamless Integration with Microsoft Ecosystem
Unlike third-party solutions, Purview natively integrates with Microsoft 365, Azure, and other Microsoft services, simplifying implementation and reducing costs.
AI-Powered Insights and Automation
With built-in AI and machine learning, Purview automates data discovery, classification, and compliance monitoring, whereas some competitors require extensive manual setup.
Unified Governance Across Hybrid Environments:
While tools like Collibra and Informatica offer strong governance features, Purview’s ability to manage structured and unstructured data across multi-cloud environments sets it apart.
Cost-Effectiveness
Organizations already using Microsoft services can leverage Purview at a lower cost compared to standalone data governance platforms that require additional licensing and integration efforts.
Security and Compliance Leadership
Microsoft’s vast investment in cybersecurity ensures that Purview remains at the forefront of compliance and risk management, making it a trusted choice for regulated industries.
The Future of Data Governance and Compliance
As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation, data governance will evolve in several key ways:
AI-Driven Automation
Machine learning and AI will play an even bigger role in data classification, risk detection, and policy enforcement, reducing the need for manual intervention.
Stronger Regulatory Frameworks
Governments and industries are tightening data privacy regulations, requiring organizations to adopt more robust governance strategies.
Greater Emphasis on Data Ethics
Beyond compliance, businesses will need to consider ethical data use, ensuring transparency, fairness, and accountability in AI-driven decision-making.
Unified Governance Across Data Fabrics
Organizations will demand a more seamless approach to managing data across on-premises, cloud, and edge environments, reinforcing the need for integrated solutions like Purview.
Why Vigilant for Microsoft Purview?
At Vigilant, we help organizations implement, configure, and optimize Microsoft Purview for data governance, compliance, and security. Our expertise ensures that your business stays ahead of evolving regulations while leveraging data for strategic decision-making.
Let’s discuss how Microsoft Purview can safeguard your data and drive operational excellence for your business. Contact Vigilant today to start your data governance journey!