Unlocking Business Insights with Microsoft Purview

March 25, 2024

Businesses are constantly seeking innovative solutions to harness the power of their data effectively. As a trusted Microsoft Solutions Partner, Convverge understands the importance of data governance, compliance, and insights for driving business success. Microsoft Purview emerges as a game-changer, offering businesses a comprehensive platform to discover, catalog, and govern data assets across their entire organization. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about Microsoft Purview, from its key features to its impact on businesses’ data strategies.

Understanding Microsoft Purview:

Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance solution that empowers businesses to gain insights from their data while ensuring compliance with regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. By providing a holistic view of data across on-premises, cloud, and multi-cloud environments, Purview enables organizations to understand, manage, and protect their data assets effectively.

Key Features of Microsoft Purview:

Data Discovery and Cataloging: Purview automatically scans and catalogs data from various sources, including databases, data lakes, files, and APIs. This comprehensive catalog provides businesses with a centralized inventory of their data assets, making it easier to discover and understand data lineage and relationships.

Data Classification and Sensitivity Labeling: With Purview, businesses can classify and label their data based on sensitivity, ensuring that sensitive information is adequately protected and managed. By applying sensitivity labels, organizations can enforce data protection policies and comply with regulatory requirements.

Data Governance and Compliance: Purview offers robust data governance capabilities, including data lineage tracking, data access governance, and compliance reporting. Businesses can establish policies and controls to govern data usage, access, and retention, ensuring regulatory compliance and mitigating data-related risks.

Data Insights and Analytics: Leveraging advanced analytics and AI capabilities, Purview enables businesses to derive valuable insights from their data. By analyzing data usage patterns, identifying anomalies, and predicting trends, organizations can make informed decisions and drive business outcomes with confidence.

Integration with Microsoft Azure Services: As part of the Microsoft Azure ecosystem, Purview seamlessly integrates with Azure services such as Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake Storage. This integration enables businesses to leverage Purview’s capabilities within their existing Azure environments, streamlining data governance and management workflows.

Data Security, Governance, and Compliance Together:

Microsoft Purview offers a robust platform for governing and securing data across the entire data estate, encompassing on-premises, multicloud, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) environments. The solution areas include:

Data Security: Purview provides a coordinated set of data security solutions, including Data Loss Prevention, Information Barriers, Information Protection, Insider Risk Management, and Privileged Access Management.
Data Governance: Purview offers unified data governance solutions to manage data services comprehensively, including Data Catalog, Data Estate Insights, Data Map, Data Policy, and Data Sharing.
Risk and Compliance: Purview includes risk and compliance solutions such as Audit, Communication Compliance, Compliance Manager, Data Lifecycle Management, and eDiscovery to minimize compliance risks and meet regulatory requirements.

Implementing Zero Trust with Microsoft Purview

Microsoft Purview offers a robust suite of solutions designed to help organizations implement a Zero Trust security strategy, safeguarding data through proactive measures and comprehensive protection protocols. By adhering to the core principles of Zero Trust – Verify Explicitly, Use Least Privilege Access, and Assume Breach – businesses can fortify their data defenses and mitigate potential risks effectively.

Zero Trust to Protect Data

Implementing a Zero Trust approach involves verifying user identities and access rights explicitly, limiting user access through Just-In-Time and Just-Enough-Access (JIT/JEA), and assuming potential breaches to minimize their impact. Microsoft Purview plays a pivotal role in upholding these principles by providing robust data protection solutions tailored to safeguard sensitive information across platforms, applications, and clouds.

Data Security Capabilities:

Data Classification: Gain insights into your data landscape by discovering and detecting sensitive data across the organization, enabling better protection strategies.
Information Protection: Apply sensitivity labels to enforce access control measures and encryption with rights management for sensitive data, enhancing security and compliance.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Monitor and prevent risky oversharing of sensitive data, mitigating potential security breaches or compliance incidents.
Data Lifecycle Management: Implement policies to manage the lifecycle of sensitive data, reducing data exposure and ensuring secure deletion when necessary.

Supporting Tools and Technologies:

Utilize role-based permissions and administrative units to provide Just-Enough-Access and segment access effectively.
Employ privileged access management for Just-In-Time access, augmenting protective measures against unauthorized access.
Consider encryption requirements based on specific scenarios, leveraging features such as Double Key Encryption, Advanced Message Encryption, and Customer Key for enhanced data security.

Additional Governance Options:

Leverage insider risk management to identify and mitigate risky user activities and data activity patterns effectively.
Implement information barriers to segment access between specific users, restricting two-way communication and collaboration as needed.
Utilize the data policy app and data sharing app to manage access to data sources, minimize data duplication, and enforce read-only access with time-limited permissions.

Next Steps:

For organizations looking to implement a Zero Trust strategy with Microsoft Purview, the following steps are recommended:

Deploy an information protection solution with Microsoft Purview.
Implement a data governance solution with Microsoft Purview.
Explore additional resources and guidance on Zero Trust principles and strategies through the Zero Trust Guidance Center.
By embracing a Zero Trust approach with Microsoft Purview, organizations can enhance their data security posture, mitigate risks effectively, and ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, thus safeguarding their valuable assets in today’s dynamic digital landscape.

Impact of Microsoft Purview on Businesses:

Implementing Microsoft Purview can have a transformative impact on businesses’ data strategies. By providing a unified platform for data governance and insights, Purview helps organizations unlock the full potential of their data assets. From improving data visibility and transparency to enhancing compliance and security, Purview empowers businesses to make data-driven decisions with confidence, driving innovation and growth.

Why Choose Convverge for Your Microsoft Purview Implementation?

As a trusted Microsoft Solutions Partner, Convverge brings a wealth of expertise and experience to every Purview implementation. Our team of experts understands the intricacies of the Microsoft tech stack and can provide tailored solutions to address your unique data governance and analytics needs. With a proven track record of delivering successful implementations and driving tangible business outcomes, Convverge is committed to helping your organization harness the power of Microsoft Purview and unlock the full potential of your data assets.

Conclusion:

In today’s data-centric business landscape, Microsoft Purview emerges as a critical tool for organizations seeking to maximize the value of their data. From data discovery and cataloging to governance and compliance, Purview offers a comprehensive solution to address the complex challenges of data management and analytics. Partner with Convverge, your trusted Microsoft Solutions Partner, to embark on your journey towards data-driven success with Microsoft Purview.