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Published by Krystina Miller on September 1, 2024
At Training Camp, we’re excited to explore Microsoft Purview in Azure, a powerful solution that’s revolutionizing data governance.
This comprehensive tool simplifies the complex task of managing and securing data across your entire organization. Microsoft Purview offers a suite of features designed to enhance visibility, compliance, and data utilization within the Azure ecosystem.
In this post, we’ll dive into the key benefits and implementation strategies of Microsoft Purview, helping you harness its full potential for your data governance needs.
Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive set of solutions that can help your organization govern, protect, and manage data, wherever it lives. It manages and governs data assets across on-premises, multi-cloud, and Software as a Service (SaaS) environments. This solution tackles the challenges of data sprawl, security risks, and compliance requirements in today’s intricate data landscapes.
Microsoft Purview offers a holistic view of an organization’s data estate. It automatically discovers and maps data assets, creating a thorough data catalog. This feature solves the problem of data silos and lack of visibility. A recent study found that 70% who struggle to trust their data say data quality is the biggest issue. Microsoft Purview addresses this issue head-on by providing a centralized platform for data discovery and classification.
Microsoft Purview boasts robust security and compliance capabilities. It includes built-in data loss prevention (DLP) tools that help organizations identify and protect sensitive information. This feature proves particularly important given that 74% of organizations experienced at least one data security incident in the past year.
The platform also supports compliance with major regulations (such as GDPR and CCPA). It offers automated data classification and labeling, which helps organizations meet regulatory requirements more efficiently. Users can set up policies to automatically apply sensitivity labels to data containing personal information, ensuring compliance with data protection laws.
Microsoft Purview integrates deeply with the Azure ecosystem. This integration allows for seamless data governance across various Azure services, including Azure Synapse Analytics, Azure Data Factory, and Power BI.
When using Azure Synapse Analytics, Microsoft Purview automatically tracks data lineage, showing how data moves and transforms throughout the analytics pipeline. This feature proves invaluable for data analysts and scientists who need to understand the origin and transformations of their data.
Furthermore, Microsoft Purview’s integration with Azure Active Directory enables fine-grained access control. Organizations can implement least privilege access policies, ensuring that users only have access to the data they need for their roles. This aligns with best practices for data security and helps minimize the risk of insider threats.
Microsoft Purview acts as a central nervous system for data governance in Azure environments. It provides the visibility, control, and protection needed to manage data assets effectively in today’s data-driven world. As we move forward, we’ll explore the specific benefits that Microsoft Purview brings to data governance practices.
Microsoft Purview provides a comprehensive view of your entire data estate. This unified perspective allows organizations to break down data silos and gain insights into data spread across various environments. A recent study by Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business found that 70% of respondents who struggle to trust their data cite data quality issues as the reason. Microsoft Purview addresses this challenge by offering a centralized platform for data discovery and classification.
Microsoft Purview automatically maps and catalogs data assets across on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments. This feature enables data stewards and analysts to quickly locate and understand the data available to them, which significantly reduces the time spent searching for relevant information.
In today’s data-driven world, security and compliance take center stage. Microsoft Purview equips organizations with powerful tools to protect sensitive information and meet regulatory requirements. The platform’s built-in data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities help identify and safeguard critical data. This addresses a pressing need highlighted by Microsoft’s 2024 State of Multicloud Security Report, which shares trends and insights from a multidimensional analysis so organizations can address common challenges.
Microsoft Purview’s automated data classification and labeling features streamline compliance efforts. The platform automatically applies sensitivity labels to data containing personal information, which ensures adherence to data protection laws (such as GDPR and CCPA). This automation reduces the manual effort required for compliance and minimizes the risk of human error.
Microsoft Purview improves data discovery and utilization, which stands out as one of its most significant advantages. The platform’s advanced search capabilities and business glossary features enable users to find and understand data quickly. This efficiency proves vital in today’s fast-paced business environment, where timely access to accurate data can make or break strategic decisions.
Moreover, Microsoft Purview’s data lineage tracking provides valuable context about data origins and transformations. This feature benefits data analysts and scientists who need to understand the journey of their data through various systems and processes. Microsoft Purview enhances data trust and enables more informed decision-making by offering this level of transparency.
Microsoft Purview’s integration with Azure Active Directory also allows for granular access control, which ensures that the right people have access to the right data at the right time. This capability not only enhances security but also facilitates collaboration by allowing controlled data sharing across teams and departments.
As organizations continue to navigate the complexities of modern data landscapes, Microsoft Purview emerges as a powerful ally in transforming data governance practices. The next section will explore the practical steps and best practices for implementing Microsoft Purview in Azure environments, helping you harness its full potential for your organization’s data management needs.
Microsoft Purview implementation in Azure requires careful planning and execution. This chapter outlines key steps and best practices to ensure a smooth setup process.
Create a Microsoft Purview account in the Azure portal by selecting your subscription, resource group, and account name. Configure your root collection, which acts as the top-level container for all your data assets.
Set up your scanning environment by creating and configuring integration runtimes. These runtimes bridge Microsoft Purview and your data sources. For on-premises data sources, install a self-hosted integration runtime.
Register your data sources after setting up your environment. Microsoft Purview supports various sources (including Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Lake Storage, and on-premises SQL Server). Provide connection details and set up appropriate authentication for each source.
Configure and run scans once your sources are registered. Scans discover assets within your data sources and extract metadata. Try to start with a small subset of your data to test your configuration before scaling up to your entire data estate.
Microsoft Purview uses built-in and custom classifiers to identify sensitive data. Review and customize these classifiers to match your organization’s needs. Set up auto-labeling policies to apply sensitivity labels based on the discovered classifications.
Implement role-based access control (RBAC) to manage who can access and modify data in Microsoft Purview. Create custom roles if the built-in roles don’t meet your needs. Set up data policies to control access to your data sources. Base these policies on attributes like sensitivity labels or user roles.
Connect Microsoft Purview to Azure Synapse Analytics to track data lineage across your analytics pipelines. Integration with Azure Data Factory allows you to catalog and track metadata for your data integration processes.
Enhance security by integrating Microsoft Purview with Azure Security Center. This integration provides a unified view of your security posture across your data estate.
Performance issues during large-scale scans pose a common challenge. Schedule scans during off-peak hours and use incremental scans where possible to address this issue. Another challenge involves managing the volume of alerts generated by Microsoft Purview. Start with a focused set of high-priority rules and gradually expand as you become more familiar with the system.
Data quality issues can also create obstacles. Address these by implementing data quality rules within Microsoft Purview and integrating with data quality tools for more advanced scenarios.
Microsoft Purview implementation transforms an organization’s approach to data governance. The key to success lies in starting small, testing thoroughly, and scaling gradually.
Microsoft Purview in Azure revolutionizes data governance for organizations facing complex data management challenges. It provides a unified platform for data discovery, classification, and protection across diverse environments, enhancing security and streamlining compliance efforts. The integration of AI and machine learning technologies will further improve automated data classification and risk detection, solidifying Microsoft Purview’s position as a cornerstone of modern data governance strategies.
Organizations that adopt Microsoft Purview position themselves to navigate data management complexities, ensure compliance, and drive innovation through data-driven insights. The tool not only mitigates risks associated with data breaches and non-compliance but also unlocks the true value of data assets. Microsoft Purview fosters a data-driven culture, enabling informed decision-making and providing a competitive edge in various industries.
At Training Camp, we offer comprehensive IT certification programs to equip professionals with the skills needed to implement and manage solutions like Microsoft Purview effectively. Our accelerated training approach ensures quick mastery of data governance and other essential IT domains. As Microsoft Purview in Azure continues to grow in significance, organizations that embrace this powerful tool will lead the way in the future of data governance.
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