In today’s data-driven world, commercial companies in Sale, across the UK, and globally are grappling with an explosion of information.
This vast ocean of data, spanning on-premises systems, multiple cloud platforms, and SaaS applications, presents both immense opportunity and significant challenges. How do you find what you need? How do you know what’s sensitive? And how do you ensure compliance with ever-tightening regulations like GDPR? The answer for many is Microsoft Purview.
What is Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance solution that helps organisations understand, manage, and govern their entire data estate.
It’s not just a single product, but a suite of integrated services designed to provide a comprehensive view of your data landscape, regardless of where that data resides. Think of it as a central nervous system for your information, offering visibility, control, and intelligence.
At its core, Microsoft Purview provides capabilities for:
Data Discovery and Mapping (Data Catalog):
Automatically scans and inventories data across your entire environment – from Microsoft 365, Azure, and on-premises databases to Amazon S3, Salesforce, and more. It creates a unified, searchable data map, making it easy to find relevant data assets.
Data Classification and Labelling:
Uses automated and manual methods to identify and classify sensitive information (e.g., personal data, financial records, intellectual property) based on predefined policies and custom rules. This allows for consistent application of security and compliance controls.
Data Governance and Compliance:
Helps enforce data policies, manage data retention and deletion, and provide audit trails. It assists in demonstrating compliance with regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and industry-specific mandates by providing a clear understanding of where sensitive data is located and how it’s handled.
Risk Management and Insider Threat Protection:
Identifies and mitigates risks associated with sensitive data, including detecting unusual data access patterns, preventing data leakage, and managing insider risks.
eDiscovery and Legal Hold:
Streamlines the process of identifying, preserving, and collecting electronically stored information (ESI) for legal investigations or regulatory requests.
The Benefits of Microsoft Purview for Commercial Companies
For commercial companies, regardless of size or sector, the adoption of Microsoft Purview offers a compelling array of benefits that directly impact efficiency, risk mitigation, and strategic decision-making:
Enhanced Data Visibility and Understanding:
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- Benefit: Purview creates a single, comprehensive map of all your data assets. Instead of data silos, you gain a holistic view of what data you have, where it’s stored, who owns it, and how it’s being used.
- Impact: This visibility eliminates “dark data,” helps identify redundant information, and empowers better data-driven decisions across departments, from marketing to finance.
Robust Regulatory Compliance (e.g., GDPR):
Benefit: With regulations like GDPR imposing strict rules on personal data, Purview’s classification and governance features are invaluable. It helps firms understand where sensitive customer data resides, who has access to it, and ensures it’s handled according to policies.
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- Impact: Significantly reduces the risk of non-compliance fines, legal challenges, and reputational damage by providing verifiable proof of data governance efforts.
Strengthened Data Security and Risk Mitigation:
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- Benefit: By classifying sensitive data, Purview allows companies to apply appropriate security controls automatically. It also helps detect unusual activities around sensitive data, potentially flagging insider threats or external breaches.
- Impact: Reduces the attack surface for cyber threats, minimises the risk of data leakage, and protects valuable intellectual property, safeguarding the company’s most critical assets.
Improved Operational Efficiency and Productivity:
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- Benefit: Finding specific data assets for projects, reports, or legal requests can be a time-consuming manual process. Purview’s data catalog and search capabilities drastically cut down on discovery time.
- Impact: Employees spend less time searching for information and more time on productive tasks, boosting overall efficiency and reducing operational costs.
Better Data Governance and Data Quality:
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- Benefit: Purview helps establish and enforce consistent data policies, defining data ownership, quality standards, and lifecycle management.
- Impact: Leads to more reliable data for analytics, better business intelligence, and greater trust in data-driven insights.
Streamlined Legal and Internal Investigations (eDiscovery):
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- Benefit: When facing litigation or internal investigations, quickly identifying and preserving relevant electronic information is crucial. Purview’s eDiscovery capabilities automate much of this complex process.
- Impact: Reduces legal costs, accelerates response times to legal requests, and ensures compliance with legal holds.
Support for Digital Transformation Initiatives:
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- Benefit: As companies migrate to the cloud, adopt new AI tools, or implement advanced analytics, understanding their data estate is foundational. Purview provides the governance layer needed to confidently embark on these transformations.
- Impact: Accelerates the success of digital initiatives by ensuring data is well-governed, secure, and ready for advanced use cases.
Conclusion:
In today’s data-rich and highly regulated business environment, comprehensive data governance is no longer a luxury but a fundamental necessity. For commercial companies in Manchester and across the UK, Microsoft Purview offers a unified, intelligent, and scalable solution to understand, manage, and protect their entire data estate.
By embracing Purview from a qualified provider such as BCN, businesses can confidently unlock the power of their data, mitigate critical risks, ensure regulatory adherence, and ultimately, drive greater efficiency and profitability. It’s an investment in control, compliance, and competitive advantage in the digital age.
