What is Microsoft Purview and Why do You Need It?

Microsoft Purview is a powerful suite of tightly integrated tools that can be used within your organisation to help you understand your data estate, and apply protections and governance across various platforms.

Why do you need it?

Data is the lifeblood of a business – with the shift to hybrid working and digital transformation – data has become more fragmented over different apps, services, clouds and even environments.  Many organisations are now struggling, with most having half of their data deemed as ‘dark,’ which means unknown and ungoverned.  

Regulatory compliance requirements are also increasing and it's now more important than ever to plan and protect this data proactively; not being compliant with regulations such as GDPR and other privacy regulations could result in costly fines, loss of customers and withdrawal of licences.  There are also industry regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act which requires certain types of data to be retained for seven years.  Without action, there is also an increased risk of security breaches through documents falling into the wrong hands.  

Businesses are dealing with an explosion of data in a variety of locations, and this is only going to continue to grow. Employees now often have multiple devices and applications, and the ability to create data.  Data can be shared not only across different applications but also with different organisations. Also, the complexity of the kind of data we deal with daily is increasing. Our data now comes in many different forms such as email messages, instant messages, files in SharePoint and Teams, Teams chat, channel messages, Viva Engage, Power BI, apps and much more. 

Why should you implement Purview?

• To stop sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands through accidental or deliberate sharing and prevent incidents that could cause business disruption.  We can do this with DLP policies.  
• Files and emails can be encrypted through sensitivity labels.  
• Apply visual markings to data and have consistent labelling across your organisation.  
• Stay compliant with regulatory requirements such as Data Protection, IS0 27001 and GDPR.  
• Heightened security awareness for staff, so data users understand how they should share or apply protections to data using tooltips.  

What can Purview do?

Purview is a complete set of tightly integrated compliance solutions that give organisations the ability to understand, manage and apply protections to data across the M365 stack. Using purview, you can gain visibility and classify your data.

You can also apply protections such as data loss prevention policies to stop the accidental sharing of sensitive items or safeguard data with encryption.

Powerful Insider Risk Management capabilities also allow for the detection and mitigation of insider threats. Purview also helps organisations keep in compliance with adaptive retention capabilities. Audit and eDiscovery.

How can Perspicuity help?

We can assist you in implementing Purview tailored to your business requirements, following best practices. Depending on your licensing or security requirements, we can implement some or all of the tools. Additionally, we can identify your sensitive data and establish safeguards for it. Through workshops, we'll provide the necessary knowledge to empower your IT teams to implement these tools effectively. Furthermore, we offer governance support for Microsoft 365 tools like SharePoint, Teams, and Power Platform.

Get in touch with the Perspicuity Team to learn more about how we can assist your organisation with Purview implementation.