Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive set of solutions that helps businesses govern, protect and manage data across their entire data estate. It ensures compliance, enhances data security, and improves endpoint management. What is Microsoft Purview? How does it work? How can it help your endpoint management and data governance solutions?

What is Microsoft Purview?

Microsoft Purview is a set of tools for data governance, compliance, and risk and compliance solutions. It works with Microsoft services like Microsoft 365, Azure, and other platforms.

Purview is a comprehensive platform that gives businesses visibility and control over their data sources, ensuring they secure data and remain compliant with regulatory standards. Microsoft Purview solutions cover everything from data discovery and classification to risk assessment, data loss prevention, and compliance auditing.

How Does Microsoft Purview Work?

At its core, Purview helps businesses discover, classify, and manage sensitive data across their entire ecosystem. The platform works by:

  • 1

    Data Discovery and Classification: It scans your business’ data wherever it lives—both structured and unstructured—across various systems and platforms. Using AI, it can automatically classify sensitive information, such as personally identifiable information (PII), financial data, and more.

  • 2

    Data Protection and Risk Management: After data is classified, Purview applies data protection policies. These include encryption and access controls. This helps ensure that sensitive information is handled securely. It also continuously monitors for risks, helping IT teams identify potential vulnerabilities or compliance breaches.

  • 3

    Compliance Management: Purview has templates for global compliance standards like GDPR and HIPAA. It makes managing regulatory requirements easier. It generates compliance scorecards and reports, making it easier to track your business’ compliance status.

  • 4

    Unified Data Insights: Through the Microsoft Purview unified catalog and Purview data map, organizations can unify their data sources, making it easier to visualize and understand how data wherever it lives is classified, used, and protected.

What Does Microsoft Purview Do?

Microsoft Purview plays several key roles in the governing and securing of your data:

  • Data Classification: Automatically tags and buckets sensitive information, ensuring it is appropriately managed.

  • Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Implements rules to prevent unauthorized sharing or leakage of critical data.

  • Risk Monitoring: Continuously tracks for risks and vulnerabilities, giving businesses the ability to act quickly on threats.

  • Compliance Audits: Helps businesses meet legal and regulatory requirements through detailed reporting and auditing tools.

  • Insider Risk Management: Identifies potential insider threats by monitoring for unusual data activity within the business.

How Does Microsoft Purview Benefit Your Endpoint Management Strategy?

Endpoint management has become more critical than ever for businesses focused on securing data and maintaining productivity. With employees accessing data sources from various devices and locations, securing endpoints is essential. Here’s how Microsoft Purview supports that mission:

  • Unified Data Security Across Endpoints: Microsoft Purview offers one platform to manage data security for all endpoints. This includes desktops, laptops, mobile devices, and cloud apps—ensuring you protect sensitive information regardless of how or where it’s accessed.

  • Data Loss Prevention on Endpoints: Purview allows businesses to set up DLP policies that prevent data leakage from endpoints. For instance, if an employee tries to share confidential files via email or cloud storage, Purview can block the action or alert IT teams

  • Endpoint Compliance Enforcement: By integrating compliance policies into your endpoint management strategy, Purview helps ensure that all endpoints adhere to regulatory requirements. This is especially valuable for businesses operating in regulated industries like healthcare or finance.

  • Visibility into Endpoint Data Activity: Purview provides insights into how data sources are accessed and used across devices, enhancing your data governance solutions. This visibility helps identify potential risks or suspicious behavior, like downloading large volumes of sensitive information.

  • Encryption and Access Control: Purview enables encryption at the endpoint level and enforces access controls. This prevents unauthorized access and keeps sensitive information secure in transit and at rest.

Commonly Asked Questions About Microsoft Purview

Microsoft Purview provides email encryption via message encryption. To open an encrypted message, the recipient may need to authenticate—either by signing in or changing directories—before they can access the content.

Visit https://compliance.microsoft.com. Access to this page requires authorization, so ensure you have the correct credentials and permissions.

Yes. Microsoft Purview data governance tools are included in the Microsoft 365 E5 license. This includes advanced security, compliance, and data governance solutions, though specific capabilities may vary across licensing tiers.

An assessment in Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager is a structured evaluation that helps businesses measure and manage their compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and internal policies.

Each assessment provides a detailed framework based on specific regulations—like GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO 27001—and breaks them down into actionable controls. These controls are mapped to Microsoft solutions and services, making it easier to understand what’s already in place and where improvements are needed.

By running assessments, businesses can identify gaps, track progress, assign management roles, and generate evidence for audits—all within the unified Microsoft Purview dashboard. It’s a practical way to stay ahead of compliance risks and continuously strengthen your data governance posture.

What makes Purview unique in data governance is its unified, AI-powered platform that brings together compliance, risk, and data management.

Unlike fragmented tools, Purview is a comprehensive solution that offers end-to-end visibility across your entire data estate, including cloud, on-premises, and hybrid environments. With built-in integration to Microsoft 365, Azure, and third-party data sources, plus features like the Purview data map and unified catalog, it enables businesses to govern, protect and manage data—all in one place.

Conclusion

Microsoft Purview equips businesses with the tools needed to govern, protect and manage data across their data estate. From data security to risk and compliance solutions, it helps you take control of your data sources and meet today’s security challenges with confidence.

If your business is looking to improve compliance, reduce risk, and enhance endpoint security, Microsoft Purview solutions are a smart, strategic investment.

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Andrew Reade

ANDREW READE

Andrew is our Digital Marketing Manager and oversees web-based marketing strategies and content creation for the organization. As a marketing veteran, Andrew has worked with organizations of all sizes in a diverse group of industries, from Risk Management to Transportation. Joining the organization in 2021, Andrew is based in Mobile Mentor’s Nashville, TN office.