Microsoft Purview is a unified platform for data security, data governance, risk management, and compliance across your entire data estate—including on-premises systems, SaaS apps, multiple clouds, and AI workloads. Instead of stitching together separate point solutions for discovery, classification, protection, and compliance, Purview gives you a single, integrated approach. It helps you: 1. Understand and govern your data - Build a unified map of your data with Microsoft Purview Data Map, which captures metadata across analytics, SaaS, and operational systems in hybrid and multicloud environments. - Automatically scan and classify data so you know where it lives, how it moves, and how it’s used for analytics and AI. - Make data easily discoverable with Microsoft Purview Data Catalog, so business users can find curated, high-quality data products using business-friendly terms. - Create and enforce access, movement, and sharing policies with Microsoft Purview Data Policy and Data Use Management, so the right people get the right access with appropriate controls. 2. Secure your data throughout its lifecycle - Discover, label, and protect sensitive data across apps, services, devices, and both cloud and on-premises environments using Microsoft Purview Information Protection. - Extend labeling and protection into third-party apps and services via the Microsoft Purview Information Protection SDK. - Reduce data leakage with Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP), which helps identify and prevent risky or unauthorized sharing and exfiltration. - Use Microsoft Purview Insider Risk Management to apply machine learning to user and activity signals, helping you spot potential insider risks—both accidental and intentional. 3. Improve risk and compliance posture - Automate data classification and governance at scale with Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management, using file properties, pattern recognition, 90+ sensitive information types, and machine learning. - Manage and retain business and regulatory records in unalterable formats with Microsoft Purview Records Management. - Run end-to-end legal and internal investigations with Microsoft Purview eDiscovery, including deep indexing, email threading, and near-duplicate detection, plus Copilot for Security summaries to speed review. - Support forensic investigations and audits with Microsoft Purview Audit, which can preserve audit logs for up to 10 years. - Detect potential communication violations (for example, SEC/FINRA-related issues, harassment, or inappropriate content) with Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance—including in generative AI prompts and responses. - Continuously assess and track compliance with Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager, using pre-built assessments, step-by-step guidance, and a risk-based compliance score. For organizations dealing with hybrid work, multicloud environments, and growing AI adoption, Purview helps reimagine data protection and governance as a connected, automated practice rather than a set of disconnected tools.

Microsoft Purview is designed to help you turn a scattered data estate into a governed, business-ready foundation for analytics and AI. Here’s how it supports that lifecycle: 1. Create a unified data map - Microsoft Purview Data Map automatically captures metadata from analytics platforms, SaaS apps, and operational systems across hybrid and multicloud environments. - Built-in scanning and classification keep the map current, so you’re not relying on manual inventories. - Support for Apache Atlas APIs lets you integrate existing data catalogs and systems, helping you bring multiple sources into a single view. 2. Make data discoverable and usable - Microsoft Purview Data Catalog lets data stewards and owners curate data assets into governed data products. - Business users can search using familiar, business-friendly terms instead of technical table names or file paths. - Standardized controls, policies, and rules are applied centrally, while built-in reports and health actions help your data office maintain oversight. 3. Classify and protect critical data assets - Once data is discovered, you can identify which assets are critical and need data quality, lineage, classification, and protection. - Microsoft Purview Information Protection automatically discovers and labels sensitive data across apps, services, devices, and environments. - These labels can drive downstream policies for access, sharing, retention, and protection. 4. Govern access, movement, and sharing - With Microsoft Purview Data Policy and Data Use Management, you can define who can access which data, under what conditions, and for what purposes. - You can apply different policies for DevOps teams, data owners, and self-service users, so access is tailored without becoming a bottleneck. 5. Enable responsible analytics and AI - Because Purview gives you visibility into where data lives, how it moves, and how it’s used, you can more confidently activate data for analytics and AI scenarios. - This includes generative AI use cases, where you need to understand and protect the data that powers tools like Copilot for Microsoft 365. The result is a more federated, business-friendly data governance practice: teams can find and use quality data quickly, while your security, risk, and compliance requirements are enforced consistently in the background.

Microsoft Purview brings together several capabilities to help you manage regulatory obligations, handle investigations, and stay audit-ready without relying on manual, ad hoc processes. 1. Automate classification, retention, and records management - Microsoft Purview Data Lifecycle Management automatically classifies content and applies policies at scale. - It uses file properties, pattern recognition, 90+ sensitive information types (such as PII like passports or Social Security numbers), and machine learning to apply the right retention labels. - Microsoft Purview Records Management lets you store and retain regulatory, legal, and business-critical records in unalterable, compliant formats, while disposing of data that’s no longer needed. 2. Support legal and internal investigations - Microsoft Purview eDiscovery provides an end-to-end workflow to preserve, collect, analyze, review, and export content for both internal and external matters, including data spillage scenarios. - You can identify custodians and data sources, apply legal holds, and manage communications around those holds. - Intelligent features like deep indexing, email threading, and near-duplicate detection help narrow large data sets. - Copilot for Security in Microsoft Purview can generate contextual summaries of review set items, helping reviewers quickly identify what’s relevant for tagging or export. 3. Enable forensic investigations and long-term auditability - Microsoft Purview Audit gives you detailed visibility into user activity and data access, including events like searches and email access, replies, or forwards. - It supports forensic and compliance investigations by surfacing high-bandwidth data access and other potentially risky behaviors. - Audit logs can be preserved for up to 10 years to help meet regulatory and internal policy requirements. 4. Monitor communications and AI-generated content - Microsoft Purview Communication Compliance helps detect potential violations in communications, such as: - Regulatory issues (for example, SEC or FINRA-related concerns) - Harassing or threatening language - Adult or otherwise inappropriate content - It is built with privacy by design, using role-based access controls, pseudonymized usernames by default, and audit logs. - These capabilities extend to generative AI, allowing you to detect compliance issues in AI-generated content, including prompts and responses from Copilot for Microsoft 365. 5. Continuously assess and improve compliance posture - Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager helps you continuously assess and track your compliance effectiveness. - It offers pre-built assessments for common standards (including industry and governmental requirements), step-by-step guidance on recommended improvements, and a risk-based compliance score. - This gives you a structured way to understand where you stand, prioritize remediation, and report progress to auditors and leadership. Together, these capabilities help you move from reactive, manual compliance and investigation processes to a more proactive, data-driven approach that’s easier to scale as your data estate grows.