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Conceptual Flow of Azure Purview
At a high level, using Azure Purview involves a series of interconnected steps, from setting up the service to managing data governance. Here’s the breakdown of how it works:
1. Setup and Data Source Integration
What You Do:
- Provision Azure Purview: You start by creating an Azure Purview account from the Azure Portal. Once the account is created, you configure it to start governing your data.
- Connect Data Sources: You need to register the data sources you want to govern. These can be from multiple environments, including:
- Azure (e.g., Azure Data Lake, Azure SQL, Azure Synapse)
- On-Premises (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle DB)
- Other Cloud Providers (e.g., AWS S3, Google Cloud)
- SaaS applications (e.g., Salesforce, Dynamics 365)
What Purview Does:
- Scan the Data Sources: After you register a data source, Purview will perform an initial scan of the connected data sources. Scanning involves inspecting the metadata (but not the actual data) to build a catalog of all available data assets (e.g., tables, files, reports, etc.).
- Metadata Collection: Purview collects metadata such as data source names, schema, column names, data types, etc. This creates a foundation for understanding what data exists across your ecosystem.
Concept:
The scanning process allows Purview to discover and catalog all data assets. This scan is automated and periodically repeated to keep the catalog updated.
2. Data Cataloging
What You Do:
- Define Data Asset Ownership and Tags: You can manually add details like who owns the data asset, its business context, and assign tags for easier searchability.
- Organize by Business Units: You can logically organize the discovered data assets by business unit, data domain, or other relevant categories to align with organizational needs.
What Purview Does:
- Automatically Builds a Data Catalog: Purview creates a searchable data catalog where each asset is a part of this structured repository. The catalog is searchable and provides detailed information about each data asset (e.g., data location, usage).
- Enables Data Discovery: Purview allows users within the organization to search through the catalog for relevant data using metadata, tags, and descriptions.
Concept:
The data catalog is essentially a metadata repository that provides a complete picture of your data estate. It organizes all the metadata into a single place where users can easily find and understand what data exists, regardless of where it is stored.
3. Data Classification
What You Do:
- Set Data Classification Rules: While Purview can automatically classify data, you can also define custom classification rules. For example, if certain fields contain personally identifiable information (PII), you can create custom classifiers for them.
- Initiate Data Classification: You trigger data classification by setting Purview to scan the data for specific types of sensitive information (PII, financial data, health data).
What Purview Does:
- Auto-Classification: Purview will use built-in classifiers to automatically identify and label sensitive data. For instance, it will scan through your metadata and classify columns like “SSN” or “Credit Card Number” as PII.
- Custom Classification: Purview supports custom classification rules, meaning if your organization has unique data classification needs, you can define your own classifiers.
- Generate Sensitive Data Reports: After classification, Purview creates reports on where sensitive data is located and how much of it exists, helping you manage compliance requirements.
Concept:
The classification process helps organizations manage data sensitivity and compliance by automatically detecting and tagging sensitive information. This enables organizations to maintain better control over regulated or confidential data.
4. Data Lineage Tracking
What You Do:
- Configure Data Lineage Collection: You can manually integrate Purview with data pipelines, ETL jobs, or processes that move or transform data. For example, integrating with Azure Data Factory, SQL databases, and other processing services.
What Purview Does:
- Automatic Lineage Discovery: Purview captures and visualizes data lineage by tracking how data moves and transforms through systems. It shows the data’s journey, from its origin (e.g., source system) to the final destination (e.g., reporting or analytics).
- Track Data Changes: Purview tracks transformations applied to the data (e.g., from raw to cleaned), which is vital for auditing purposes.
Concept:
Data lineage gives you visibility into the flow of data across your systems, which is crucial for audits, compliance, and troubleshooting. It ensures you understand where the data comes from, how it is processed, and where it goes.
5. Governance Policies and Access Control
What You Do:
- Define Governance Policies: You can set data access policies and governance rules within Purview. This includes who can access specific data assets and under what conditions.
- Assign Roles: Define roles and responsibilities for data stewards, custodians, or users who need access to specific data.
What Purview Does:
- Enforce Policies: Purview helps enforce these policies across the data estate. For example, it can restrict access to sensitive data to only specific individuals or teams.
- Provide a Governance Dashboard: It provides an overview of governance activities, including compliance status, policy violations, and asset access.
Concept:
Purview acts as a policy enforcement layer for your data governance strategy, ensuring that access control and data protection rules are applied consistently across your environment.
6. Insights and Reporting
What You Do:
- Generate Compliance Reports: You can generate reports to showcase compliance with internal or external regulations.
- Use Dashboards for Monitoring: You can monitor the health of your data governance framework and look at dashboards to see sensitive data locations, policy adherence, and data usage patterns.
What Purview Does:
- Provides Business Insights: Purview generates insights into how data is being used across the organization, which data is most accessed, and whether any governance issues exist.
- Compliance Monitoring: Purview continuously scans the environment for any data governance violations or risks, providing alerts and recommendations to address them.
Concept:
Purview provides ongoing visibility and insights into your data estate, helping you monitor compliance, optimize data usage, and track overall data health.
End-to-End Flow Summary:
- Set up Azure Purview → Register your data sources.
- Scan and Discover Data → Purview creates a data catalog from metadata.
- Classify Sensitive Data → Purview automatically classifies data (e.g., PII, financial data).
- Track Data Lineage → Purview visualizes data movement across systems.
- Define Governance Policies → You establish rules for access and protection.
- Monitor Compliance and Insights → Purview tracks compliance and provides actionable insights.
Conclusion:
Azure Purview is a robust tool for managing your data governance strategy. It handles everything from automatic data discovery, cataloging, and classification to tracking data lineage and enforcing governance policies. With Purview, you can ensure your data is well-governed, secure, and compliant across your entire organization.
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Scenario: Retail Company Data Governance with Azure Purview
Company Background:
A retail company, RetailCo, operates in multiple regions and deals with a wide variety of data, including sales transactions, customer profiles, product catalogs, and supply chain information. RetailCo has data stored across various systems like SQL databases, Azure Data Lake, and on-premises storage, with some systems storing sensitive customer information (e.g., names, emails, credit card numbers). RetailCo also has data pipelines that process sales data for generating reports.
Goal:
RetailCo needs to ensure that all data across these systems is discoverable, well-governed, and classified correctly to meet compliance requirements such as GDPR. They also need to track how customer data flows through the system to ensure it is handled securely.
Step-by-Step with Azure Purview:
1. Setting Up Azure Purview and Connecting Data Sources
What RetailCo Does:
- Creates an Azure Purview Account from the Azure Portal.
- Connects Data Sources: They register their Azure Data Lake, SQL Server, and on-premises Oracle DB as data sources in Azure Purview. These contain sales data, customer profiles, and product data.
What Purview Does:
- Scans the Data Sources: Purview automatically scans these sources and collects metadata (e.g., table names, columns, file names, and types) without accessing the actual data.
Scenario Example:
RetailCo’s SQL Server has a “CustomerInfo” table, containing columns like CustomerID, Name, Email, and CreditCardNumber. After scanning, Purview discovers the CustomerInfo table and stores its metadata in the Purview catalog.
2. Building the Data Catalog
What RetailCo Does:
- Assigns Business Tags: The data management team at RetailCo tags data sources to identify ownership (e.g., Sales, Marketing, Supply Chain), so other users can easily find the relevant data.
What Purview Does:
- Creates a Searchable Catalog: The discovered data assets (like the CustomerInfo table) are now part of a centralized, searchable catalog, accessible by teams across the company.
Scenario Example:
The CustomerInfo table gets tagged with "Sensitive" and "Sales Department". When users search for customer-related or sales-related data, they can easily find this table in the catalog.
3. Classifying Sensitive Data
What RetailCo Does:
- Custom Classification Rules: RetailCo defines custom rules in Purview to classify data that may contain sensitive information, such as customer email addresses or credit card numbers.
What Purview Does:
- Auto-Classifies Data: Purview automatically scans the metadata of the CustomerInfo table and detects that Email and CreditCardNumber columns contain sensitive data. It flags these columns as PII (Personally Identifiable Information) and PCI (Payment Card Information).
Scenario Example:
RetailCo now has visibility that the CreditCardNumber column in the CustomerInfo table is classified as PCI, ensuring they know exactly where sensitive payment data is located.
4. Tracking Data Lineage
What RetailCo Does:
- Sets Up Data Lineage Tracking: RetailCo connects its data pipelines (e.g., Azure Data Factory) and processing jobs to Purview, so it can track how sales data flows and is transformed.
What Purview Does:
- Captures Data Lineage: Purview automatically records data lineage, showing how data moves from raw transactional logs in Azure Data Lake to the SalesReports table in the SQL Server, and finally into Power BI for reporting.
Scenario Example:
The company’s sales data flows from a transactional file in Azure Data Lake, gets cleaned in Azure Data Factory, and is stored in SQL Server. Purview captures this flow, so RetailCo can visually trace every step of how sales data is processed from raw files to final reports.
5. Defining Governance Policies
What RetailCo Does:
- Defines Data Access Policies: RetailCo sets governance policies in Purview that restrict access to sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, to only specific individuals (e.g., the Finance team).
What Purview Does:
- Enforces Policies: Purview automatically enforces these policies across connected data sources. If someone outside of the Finance team tries to access the CreditCardNumber column, access is denied.
Scenario Example:
Only the Finance team at RetailCo can access the CreditCardNumber column in the CustomerInfo table. If an unauthorized user from the Marketing team tries to retrieve credit card data, Purview ensures they don’t have access.
6. Monitoring and Reporting
What RetailCo Does:
- Uses Purview’s Dashboard: The data governance team uses Purview's dashboards to monitor data compliance, view data usage patterns, and identify any governance violations.
What Purview Does:
- Provides Insights: Purview continuously monitors data usage and provides insights into sensitive data locations, policy violations, and compliance status. It also flags any unauthorized access attempts or compliance risks.
Scenario Example:
RetailCo’s compliance officer regularly checks Purview’s compliance reports to ensure GDPR compliance. They get an alert if sensitive customer data (like emails or credit card numbers) is accessed by an unauthorized team or if there are untagged data assets.
End-to-End Flow Summary for RetailCo:
- Set up Purview and Register Sources: RetailCo sets up Purview and connects various data sources.
- Scan and Discover Data: Purview scans these sources and builds a data catalog.
- Classify Sensitive Data: Purview automatically classifies PII and PCI data, flagging sensitive columns like CreditCardNumber.
- Track Data Lineage: Purview tracks the journey of data from raw files to final reports, providing complete visibility into how data is processed.
- Define Governance Policies: RetailCo defines and enforces data access policies, ensuring only authorized teams can access sensitive data.
- Monitor and Report: Purview provides insights and compliance monitoring, ensuring RetailCo meets regulatory requirements like GDPR.
Conclusion:
By using Azure Purview, RetailCo achieves full data visibility and governance across its diverse data sources. They can automatically discover and classify sensitive data, track how data flows through the organization, and enforce strict access policies. This allows them to meet compliance requirements and ensure data is used responsibly across the business.
This scenario-driven approach illustrates how Azure Purview can be implemented to manage complex data estates in real-world situations, ensuring governance, security, and compliance.
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Azure Purview can classify unstructured data like documents, including files such as Word documents, PDFs, Excel files, text files, and more. Purview is capable of scanning and classifying unstructured data stored in various locations such as Azure Data Lake, Blob Storage, and other supported storage systems.
How Purview Classifies Unstructured Data:
Data Scanning:
- Purview can scan unstructured data sources (e.g., files and documents) to extract metadata and perform content analysis. It looks for patterns and keywords within the document to identify sensitive information like personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, or health data.
Built-in and Custom Classifications:
- Built-in classifiers: Purview comes with built-in classifiers for common types of sensitive data, such as credit card numbers, email addresses, social security numbers, and financial records.
- Custom classifiers: You can also define custom classification rules to tag data based on your organization’s specific needs. For instance, you can create a custom rule to detect legal documents or internal memos.
Sensitive Data Classification:
- When scanning unstructured data, Purview uses regular expressions, machine learning models, and sensitive data labels to identify and classify content that may contain confidential or sensitive information. For example, it can flag any files containing social security numbers or health-related information (e.g., HIPAA-compliant data).
Metadata and Tags:
- After classification, Purview associates the file with tags that reflect its sensitivity. For example, a PDF containing client information might be tagged as PII or Confidential. These tags make it easier to discover and manage sensitive documents.
Example Scenario:
If your company stores unstructured data, such as contracts or financial reports in Azure Blob Storage or Azure Data Lake, Azure Purview can:
- Scan the documents.
- Automatically classify documents containing credit card numbers or personal data as sensitive.
- Add relevant tags to these documents for easy discovery and management.
- Provide insights into where sensitive unstructured data resides, ensuring better control and compliance.
Conclusion:
Azure Purview can indeed classify unstructured data like documents, enabling organizations to discover, tag, and manage sensitive content across their data estate, including both structured and unstructured data sources. This is particularly useful for data governance and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements like GDPR, HIPAA, or PCI-DSS.
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Azure Purview’s pricing model is based on several components, each covering different aspects of the data governance service. The key factors influencing the cost of using Azure Purview include data map storage, data scans, classifications, and resource consumption for running these processes. Here's a breakdown of how pricing works for Azure Purview:
1. Data Map Storage
The Data Map is the central repository in Azure Purview that stores metadata, classifications, data lineage, and other information about your data estate.
- Pricing Model: You are charged based on the storage capacity of the data map. This is measured in Capacity Units (CUs).
- 1 Capacity Unit = 1 million data assets or 1 TB of metadata storage.
- Cost: You pay a fixed monthly fee for each Capacity Unit used. As your metadata increases with the growth of your data estate, more Capacity Units may be required.
2. Data Scanning
When you use Azure Purview to scan data sources (both structured and unstructured), you are charged based on the volume of data scanned.
- Pricing Model: The cost is calculated based on the number of vCore-hours consumed during the scanning process.
- vCore-Hours: This is a measure of the virtual CPU cores used for the scan, multiplied by the duration of the scan in hours. Different data sources might take varying amounts of vCore-hours depending on the size and complexity of the data.
- Cost: You pay for the number of vCore-hours used for scanning. For example, scanning a 1TB database will cost more than scanning a 100GB dataset.
3. Data Classification
Azure Purview can classify data assets during scans to identify sensitive information like PII, financial data, and other confidential data. Classification runs in parallel with the scanning process.
- Pricing Model: You pay for additional vCore-hours if you enable data classification along with scanning.
- Cost: The cost is an additional charge over scanning, based on how much compute power is used for classifying the data during the scan. More complex classifications or large datasets may incur higher costs.
4. Data Insights and Management
Purview generates insights and dashboards for monitoring compliance, sensitive data locations, and governance policy adherence.
- Pricing Model: There is no direct charge for insights or dashboard generation. However, these are tied to the data map, and additional storage or scans may be required to keep the data map up to date, which could indirectly influence cost.
5. Scanning Frequency
How often you scan your data sources also affects the pricing. You can schedule scans to occur periodically (e.g., daily, weekly), and each scan will consume vCore-hours and contribute to your overall cost.
- Pricing Tip: You can control costs by setting appropriate scanning schedules based on the nature of the data sources. For example, highly dynamic datasets might require frequent scans, while static data can be scanned less frequently.
6. Free Tier
Azure Purview offers a free tier with limited capacity for trying out the service. The free tier includes:
- 1 Capacity Unit for Data Map storage.
- 1 vCore-hour of data scanning each month.
This free tier is useful for small-scale testing, but large production environments will likely exceed these limits.
Example Pricing Scenario:
Let’s say a company uses Azure Purview to manage their data estate, and they have:
- 500GB of metadata stored in the Purview Data Map.
- They run scans on 3 data sources (an Azure Data Lake, an SQL Server, and an on-premises file system) once a week.
- They enable data classification during scans.
For this setup:
- Data Map Storage: 500GB fits within 1 Capacity Unit, so they’ll pay the monthly fee for 1 Capacity Unit.
- Data Scanning: Each scan of the data sources (based on the size and complexity of the data) consumes 10 vCore-hours per scan. With weekly scans, this results in 40 vCore-hours per month.
- Classification: Since classification is enabled, additional vCore-hours will be required, adding extra compute costs on top of scanning.
Cost Optimization Tips:
- Use on-demand scans: Instead of frequent, scheduled scans, consider on-demand scanning to reduce unnecessary vCore-hour consumption.
- Monitor Data Map growth: Keep an eye on your data map usage to ensure you’re not storing excessive metadata that might increase your Capacity Units.
- Leverage Free Tier: If you’re just starting or have a small data estate, make use of the free tier for trial purposes.
Conclusion:
Azure Purview pricing is flexible and scalable, depending on the size of your data estate, the complexity of scans, and how often you run them. Costs primarily come from Data Map storage and vCore-hours used for scanning and classification. Monitoring and controlling scan schedules, data map usage, and classification settings can help optimize costs.
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Azure Purview and Microsoft Purview (formerly known as Microsoft 365 Compliance), while they share the same "Purview" branding, are designed for different purposes and serve distinct functions in the Microsoft ecosystem. Here's a breakdown of the differences:
1. Azure Purview:
- Purpose: Azure Purview is a unified data governance service focused on helping organizations discover, catalog, classify, and govern data across on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments.
- Focus:
- Data discovery across an organization’s data estate (both structured and unstructured data).
- Provides data lineage, metadata management, and data classification.
- Helps with data governance and compliance by ensuring data is properly managed across various data sources.
- Scope: Azure Purview is used for enterprise-wide data governance that includes Azure services, on-premises data, and other cloud providers (AWS, Google Cloud), as well as SaaS applications.
- Example Use Case: A company with data spread across Azure Data Lake, SQL databases, AWS S3, and on-premises Oracle databases uses Azure Purview to create a centralized data catalog, track data lineage, and classify sensitive data for governance and compliance.
2. Microsoft Purview (formerly Microsoft 365 Compliance):
- Purpose: Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance) is focused on managing information protection and compliance for Microsoft 365 services (such as Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, OneDrive, and Teams).
- Focus:
- Information protection by identifying and securing sensitive information within Microsoft 365 applications (e.g., documents, emails, chats).
- Compliance management tools, including data loss prevention (DLP), insider risk management, information governance, eDiscovery, and records management.
- Provides tools to help organizations meet regulatory and internal compliance requirements.
- Scope: It is mainly focused on the Microsoft 365 ecosystem and integrates deeply with Microsoft services like SharePoint, Exchange, OneDrive, and Teams. It doesn’t focus on broader enterprise data governance but rather information compliance and protection within the Microsoft 365 environment.
- Example Use Case: A company wants to prevent sensitive information (like credit card numbers or PII) from being shared through emails or Teams chats. They use Microsoft Purview DLP (Data Loss Prevention) to automatically detect and block such information within Microsoft 365 services.
Key Differences:
| Feature/Aspect | Azure Purview | Microsoft Purview (MS 365 Compliance) |
|---|
| Primary Focus | Enterprise-wide data governance and discovery. | Information protection, compliance, and risk management for Microsoft 365. |
| Scope of Data | Works across Azure, on-prem, and multi-cloud (AWS, Google). | Limited to Microsoft 365 services (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, etc.). |
| Core Capabilities | - Data cataloging, classification, and lineage.
- Data governance across diverse sources. | - Data Loss Prevention (DLP), retention policies, information protection.
- Compliance reporting and eDiscovery. |
| Use Case | Managing and governing data across the entire data estate, including hybrid and multi-cloud environments. | Ensuring compliance and data protection within Microsoft 365 services. |
| Compliance Focus | General data governance and regulatory compliance for enterprise data. | Focused on regulatory compliance and protecting M365 data. |
| Integration | Works with Azure, on-premises, and other cloud environments. | Deep integration with Microsoft 365 services. |
| Who Uses It | Data governance teams managing data across multiple sources and locations. | Compliance officers, IT admins, and security teams focusing on M365 data protection. |
Summary:
- Azure Purview is a data governance solution aimed at organizations looking to manage and govern data across a variety of sources, whether in Azure, on-premises, or multi-cloud environments. It’s focused on discovery, cataloging, and data classification.
- Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance) is focused on information protection and compliance within the Microsoft 365 suite (Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, etc.), providing tools like DLP, eDiscovery, and insider risk management.
In short, Azure Purview governs data across the entire enterprise, while Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance) is specifically for managing compliance and information protection in Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Purview (formerly known as Microsoft 365 Compliance) does classify data, but it does so specifically within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (e.g., Word, Excel, emails, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams). This classification is part of its information protection and compliance features, which help safeguard sensitive data and ensure compliance with organizational policies.
Here’s how data classification works in Microsoft Purview within Microsoft 365 services:
1. Data Classification in Microsoft Purview (M365)
Microsoft Purview provides data classification capabilities through sensitivity labels and automatic classification in apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, etc.
Sensitivity Labels: These labels allow you to classify and protect data based on its sensitivity (e.g., Confidential, Public, Highly Confidential). Sensitivity labels are applied to documents, emails, and other data within Microsoft 365 apps.
Manual Classification: Users can manually apply sensitivity labels to their documents or emails to categorize information as "Confidential," "Highly Confidential," or "Internal," depending on how sensitive the information is.
Automatic Classification: Microsoft Purview can automatically apply sensitivity labels to data based on content inspection. For example, if a document contains sensitive information like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, or other personal data, Microsoft Purview can automatically classify the document as Confidential or apply encryption to protect it.
2. How Does It Work in Word, Excel, and Outlook?
3. How Does Classification Work?
- Sensitivity Labels are created and managed by admins in the Microsoft Purview Compliance Center. Admins can define what each label means, such as Public, Internal, Confidential, or Highly Confidential, and specify the level of protection associated with each label (e.g., encryption, rights management).
- When a user applies a sensitivity label to a document or email:
- It can encrypt the content, ensuring only authorized users can open it.
- It can apply watermarks, headers, or footers indicating the sensitivity level.
- It can restrict specific actions like forwarding or printing.
- Automatic Classification works by scanning content for specific patterns, keywords, or sensitive information types (like credit card numbers or social security numbers), then applying labels automatically.
Example Scenario:
In Word: If a user writes a document that contains sensitive company financial data, they can manually label it as "Confidential". Alternatively, if the document contains keywords like "Classified" or patterns like credit card numbers, Microsoft Purview’s automatic classification will label it as "Confidential", encrypting the document and adding usage restrictions.
In Outlook: When composing an email that includes customer PII (personally identifiable information), the system can prompt the user to apply a "Confidential" sensitivity label, or it can do so automatically based on predefined rules. The email will be encrypted, and the recipient will not be able to forward it or copy its contents.
4. Integration with Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is a feature in Microsoft Purview that works in conjunction with sensitivity labels to ensure sensitive information doesn’t leave the organization inappropriately.
- For example, DLP policies can scan emails, files, and documents for sensitive content (like credit card numbers, health data, or trade secrets) and either block the data from being shared or apply a "Confidential" label with encryption.
How It Differs from Azure Purview:
- Azure Purview focuses on governing and cataloging data across various data sources, including structured and unstructured data in multi-cloud and on-premises environments. Its classification capabilities are used for data governance at a broader, enterprise-wide level.
- Microsoft Purview (M365), on the other hand, focuses on information protection within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (Word, Excel, SharePoint, OneDrive, etc.). It helps secure sensitive information within these platforms through labels, DLP, and encryption.
Conclusion:
Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance) does classify data, particularly within the Microsoft 365 environment (e.g., Word, Outlook, Excel), by using sensitivity labels and automatic classification features. This classification helps protect sensitive information, ensuring that data is labeled appropriately (e.g., Confidential, Highly Confidential) and applying protection like encryption or usage restrictions to keep it safe.
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Microsoft Purview now combining both the former Azure Purview and Microsoft 365 compliance solutions, the branding has evolved to provide a unified data governance and compliance platform. However, the conceptual workflows for the governance of enterprise-wide data (formerly Azure Purview) and information protection and compliance (formerly Microsoft 365 Compliance) remain distinct.
Here’s how we can reconcile the previous explanations under this new Microsoft Purview umbrella:
Updated Understanding of Microsoft Purview:
Microsoft Purview now represents a comprehensive solution for both:
- Data governance across on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments (formerly Azure Purview).
- Information protection, compliance, and risk management within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem (formerly Microsoft 365 Compliance).
Conceptual Flows: Unified but Distinct in Scope
Even though these services fall under a single Microsoft Purview brand, the core functionalities of each component (data governance vs. information protection) still operate similarly, with the following flows:
1. Data Governance Flow (Formerly Azure Purview)
This part of Microsoft Purview focuses on enterprise-wide data governance. It involves managing, discovering, classifying, and governing data across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.
Step-by-Step Flow:
- Data Source Integration: You connect various data sources, including Azure, AWS, on-premises databases, and SaaS applications to Microsoft Purview.
- Data Cataloging: Purview scans these sources and catalogs the data. This includes building a metadata repository for structured and unstructured data.
- Data Classification: Purview automatically classifies sensitive data across these sources using built-in or custom classifiers (e.g., identifying PII in an on-premises SQL database).
- Data Lineage: Track how data flows across the organization, showing transformations, processing, and how it's consumed across systems.
- Governance Policies: Define access control and compliance rules for managing data in a unified way, ensuring proper governance across cloud, hybrid, and on-prem environments.
- Insights and Monitoring: Purview provides insights into the governance health of the organization’s data estate, helping you ensure that data is well-managed and compliant.
Example: A retail company uses Microsoft Purview to govern data spread across Azure Data Lake, AWS S3, and on-premises SQL Server, classifying customer data as sensitive and tracking its lineage as it moves through ETL pipelines.
2. Information Protection and Compliance Flow (Formerly Microsoft 365 Compliance)
This aspect of Microsoft Purview focuses on managing sensitive information within Microsoft 365 services, ensuring compliance, and providing tools for information protection, data loss prevention (DLP), and eDiscovery.
Step-by-Step Flow:
- Sensitivity Label Setup: You define sensitivity labels to classify data as Confidential, Public, etc. within Microsoft 365 services like Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, and Teams.
- Manual and Automatic Labeling: Users apply sensitivity labels manually to emails or documents, or Microsoft Purview applies them automatically based on rules (e.g., if an email contains credit card numbers, it’s labeled as Confidential).
- Data Loss Prevention (DLP): DLP policies are created to block or restrict the sharing of sensitive data across Microsoft 365 services. These rules prevent PII from being emailed to unauthorized parties or shared outside the organization.
- Compliance Monitoring and Alerts: Purview continuously monitors for compliance violations within Microsoft 365, alerting administrators to risky behavior, like unauthorized sharing of sensitive data.
- eDiscovery and Auditing: Purview provides eDiscovery tools to search across Microsoft 365 services during legal or regulatory investigations, while audit logs track how sensitive data is accessed or shared.
- Compliance Reporting: Generate reports to show compliance with regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, or SOX using built-in templates.
Example: A finance company uses Microsoft Purview to apply DLP policies in Outlook, preventing sensitive financial data from being shared outside the organization. They also use eDiscovery to find relevant emails for legal cases.
Unifying the Two in Microsoft Purview
The new Microsoft Purview unifies these services, allowing organizations to:
- Govern enterprise data (formerly Azure Purview) across multi-cloud, hybrid, and on-prem environments.
- Manage information protection and compliance for data specifically within Microsoft 365 services.
Although the branding is unified, the conceptual flows and use cases are still distinct:
- Data governance focuses on a broader data estate (hybrid, multi-cloud, and on-prem).
- Information protection is focused on Microsoft 365 services.
How They Work Together
- Data Discovery and Governance (across the entire enterprise):
- Microsoft Purview provides end-to-end data discovery, governance, and classification for structured and unstructured data, whether it's stored in Azure, AWS, or on-premises systems.
- Information Protection and Compliance (within Microsoft 365):
- For data specifically in Microsoft 365 apps (emails, documents, chats), Microsoft Purview applies sensitivity labels, DLP policies, and compliance monitoring to protect sensitive data, ensure it's handled properly, and prevent leaks.
Practical Example of Unified Usage:
A healthcare organization might use Microsoft Purview to:
Govern data across their data estate:
- Azure Data Lake stores sensitive health records, while on-premises SQL stores patient information.
- Microsoft Purview discovers, catalogs, and classifies this data, ensuring sensitive patient records are tracked and managed according to healthcare compliance laws like HIPAA.
Protect data within Microsoft 365:
- The same organization uses Outlook and Teams to communicate about patient cases internally.
- Microsoft Purview applies sensitivity labels to emails and DLP policies to prevent patient records from being emailed externally by accident.
- eDiscovery helps them respond to legal requests for specific patient-related communications.
Conclusion:
With the new Microsoft Purview, you get a comprehensive platform that offers both:
- Enterprise-wide data governance across multi-cloud and hybrid environments (what was previously Azure Purview).
- Information protection and compliance within Microsoft 365 services (formerly Microsoft 365 Compliance).
While the branding has unified under Microsoft Purview, the core governance and compliance flows operate similarly to how they did previously, with data governance focusing on the broader data estate and information protection focusing on Microsoft 365. The combination gives organizations a holistic approach to data management, governance, and compliance across both enterprise data and productivity tools.
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Conceptual Flow of Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance)
Microsoft Purview ensures that sensitive information within Word, Excel, Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams is protected, classified, and managed according to your organization’s compliance and security policies.
1. Setup and Policy Definition
What You Do:
Configure Sensitivity Labels: You start by defining sensitivity labels in the Microsoft Purview Compliance Center. Sensitivity labels are used to categorize and protect documents and emails based on their level of confidentiality (e.g., Public, Internal, Confidential, Highly Confidential).
- You define what each label means and set up policies for handling sensitive data (e.g., encrypting documents, applying watermarks, or restricting email forwarding).
Create Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Policies: Define DLP policies to automatically detect and protect sensitive information such as personal identifiable information (PII), financial information, or health data in documents or emails. DLP policies allow you to block or restrict sharing of sensitive data.
What Purview Does:
- Policy Enforcement: Once labels and policies are defined, Microsoft Purview automatically enforces these policies across your Microsoft 365 environment (emails, documents, chats, etc.).
- Custom or Built-in Templates: You can use built-in templates for common regulatory compliance requirements (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA), or create custom rules that match your organization’s unique needs.
Concept:
In this step, you define the rules that govern how sensitive data should be classified, protected, and managed within Microsoft 365 services.
2. Sensitivity Label Application
What You Do:
Manual Label Application: Users can manually apply sensitivity labels to documents, spreadsheets, or emails. For example, when drafting an email or creating a document in Word or Excel, they select a label like “Confidential” or “Public” depending on the sensitivity of the content.
Automatic Label Application: You configure auto-classification policies to automatically apply sensitivity labels to documents or emails that contain sensitive information (like credit card numbers or social security numbers).
What Purview Does:
- Automatic Data Classification: When a document, email, or message contains patterns matching predefined sensitive information types (e.g., PII or financial data), Microsoft Purview automatically applies the appropriate label.
- For example, if an email contains a credit card number, Purview can automatically classify it as Confidential and encrypt the content to prevent unauthorized access.
- Enforce Encryption and Rights Management: Sensitivity labels can enforce encryption, restrict document sharing, or apply other rights management features (like preventing printing or forwarding).
Concept:
At this stage, data within Microsoft 365 (emails, documents, chats) is classified either manually by users or automatically by Purview, ensuring that sensitive data is labeled correctly and protected based on the label’s rules.
3. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Enforcement
What You Do:
Create DLP Rules: You define Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rules to detect and protect sensitive data, ensuring that information like PII, health records, or trade secrets does not leave the organization without appropriate safeguards.
Configure Alerts and Actions: You can set rules to alert administrators or prevent users from sending sensitive information through emails, sharing it in Teams, or uploading it to OneDrive or SharePoint.
What Purview Does:
Detect and Block Sensitive Data: Microsoft Purview scans files, emails, and communications for sensitive information based on the DLP rules you’ve configured. It can block the action, notify users of potential violations, or apply encryption automatically.
Policy Suggestions: Purview can also provide recommendations when it detects sensitive data, such as prompting the user to apply a Confidential label or blocking the transfer of sensitive data.
Concept:
DLP helps organizations proactively protect sensitive information by preventing it from being exposed outside authorized boundaries (e.g., emailing PII outside the organization). It automatically detects and responds to potential data leakage risks.
4. Monitoring and Alerts
What You Do:
Set Compliance Alerts: You configure alerts in Microsoft Purview to notify you or other administrators if any compliance violations or sensitive data handling issues arise.
Define Retention and Archiving Policies: You set up retention policies to ensure critical emails, documents, and Teams conversations are retained for legal or compliance reasons. You can also set policies to automatically archive data after a certain period.
What Purview Does:
Monitor for Violations: Purview continuously monitors for potential compliance violations. If a user tries to share a document containing sensitive information without proper authorization or classification, Purview sends an alert.
Dashboards and Reporting: Purview provides a compliance dashboard that gives an overview of potential risks, compliance status, and violations across Microsoft 365. This includes tracking sensitive data usage and flagging policy breaches.
Concept:
This step helps ensure ongoing monitoring and oversight of sensitive data handling across the organization. Alerts and reports provide real-time feedback, allowing the compliance team to act quickly on any violations.
5. eDiscovery and Audits
What You Do:
Initiate eDiscovery: You can use eDiscovery tools in Microsoft Purview to find relevant emails, documents, or messages for legal or compliance investigations. You search for specific keywords, users, or timeframes across your organization’s Microsoft 365 data.
Set Audit Logs: You configure audit logs to track activities like who accessed sensitive documents, whether data classification labels were changed, or whether sensitive data was shared inappropriately.
What Purview Does:
Perform Search and Export: During eDiscovery, Purview searches through all relevant data sources (Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams) and compiles the requested data for legal or compliance purposes.
Audit and Track Activity: Purview logs all actions taken on sensitive data, including who accessed it, how it was shared, and whether any policy violations occurred. Audit logs are helpful for regulatory audits and investigations.
Concept:
eDiscovery and audit capabilities ensure that organizations can comply with legal or regulatory requests to provide evidence of how data is handled, ensuring accountability and transparency.
6. Compliance and Governance Insights
What You Do:
Review Compliance Status: You regularly review the compliance dashboard to get insights into your organization's data protection status and identify any gaps or risks.
Generate Reports: You generate compliance reports for GDPR, HIPAA, or other regulatory requirements, demonstrating that the organization is following required data handling procedures.
What Purview Does:
Insights into Data Usage and Risks: Microsoft Purview provides insights into how data is being used, whether sensitive data is being adequately protected, and whether any compliance issues need attention.
Generate Compliance Reports: Purview can automatically generate reports that show your organization’s compliance status with specific regulatory frameworks, helping you ensure continuous adherence to legal requirements.
Concept:
In this final step, Purview provides continuous feedback and reports to ensure the organization stays compliant with internal policies and external regulations. The dashboard offers a centralized view of the organization’s information protection landscape.
End-to-End Flow Summary for Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance):
- Setup Policies and Sensitivity Labels: Define sensitivity labels and DLP rules to classify and protect data.
- Apply Sensitivity Labels: Manually or automatically apply labels to emails, documents, and communications to classify them.
- Enforce Data Loss Prevention: Purview scans content for sensitive data and blocks inappropriate sharing or applies protection.
- Monitor and Alert: Continuously monitor compliance, receive alerts for potential violations, and enforce retention policies.
- eDiscovery and Auditing: Search for relevant data and track access or modifications to sensitive information for audits or legal requirements.
- Generate Compliance Reports: Use dashboards and reports to track compliance with internal policies and regulatory frameworks.
Conclusion:
Microsoft Purview (M365 Compliance) provides a robust, integrated solution for information protection and compliance within Microsoft 365 services. Through sensitivity labels, data loss prevention, eDiscovery, and audit tracking, it helps organizations safeguard sensitive information, ensure compliance, and mitigate risks across emails, documents, and communications within Microsoft 365.
