Unlocking the Full Potential of Microsoft Purview for Your Organization
In today's world, organizations find it hard to manage and protect their information. Many have problems like missing data lists, which make protection harder. Data changes happen often and need long re-indexing. This slows down compliance efforts. Microsoft Purview is a strong solution for these problems. It does more than just protect information. It has many tools to improve data governance and security. Using Microsoft Purview can help you handle data management challenges with confidence.
Key Takeaways
Find your data sources to make data management better and safer.
Use Microsoft Purview's tools to keep sensitive information safe.
Set up access controls so only allowed users can see sensitive data.
Use templates to automate rules and make compliance easier.
Focus on training and improving to boost your organization's data security.
Data Environment Assessment
Knowing your data sources is very important for good data management. You must find out where your data is and how it moves in your organization. This information helps you see risks and set up protections. Here are some key steps to think about when checking your data environment:
Create a data classification policy with levels and security needs.
Ask key questions about data handling, like:
What is our business’s most important data?
What apps use this data?
Where else is this data kept?
Who should handle this data?
When do users need to access this data?
To list your data sources well, you can do these steps:
Open Data Map and choose Data sources.
Make sure the toggle is on Map view to see all sources and collections.
Filter by sources, domains, and collections as needed.
Manage subcollections by clicking the + button.
Register a new source using the register source button.
Common data sources that work with Microsoft Purview include:
HRIS systems
EMR systems
ERP systems
Siloed applications with homemade databases on old platforms
By connecting these sources, Microsoft Purview gives a complete view of your data landscape. This connection makes data management easier and speeds up data discovery.
Compliance is another important part of your data environment check. Organizations must follow different compliance rules to protect sensitive information. Microsoft Purview helps with many key compliance rules, such as:
To meet compliance needs, Microsoft Purview has tools that help you check your compliance status and lower risks. For example, the Compliance Manager helps check compliance with GDPR and HIPAA. Also, Customer Lockbox gives clear access permission for service operations, improving control over data access.
By knowing your data sources and compliance needs, you can use Microsoft Purview to build a strong data governance plan that protects your organization’s sensitive information.
Protecting Sensitive Information with Microsoft Purview
Keeping sensitive information safe is very important for any organization. Microsoft Purview has strong features to help you sort and control who can access your data.
Data Classification
Data classification means organizing data into groups. This helps you manage and protect sensitive information. Microsoft Purview gives you different ways to classify data, so you can find what works best for your organization. Here are the main types of classification you can use:
By using these classification methods, you can make sure that sensitive data gets the right level of protection. For example, you can mark financial records as "highly sensitive" and limit who can see them. This helps you reduce risks from data breaches.
Access Controls
Access controls are very important for keeping sensitive information safe. Microsoft Purview has several ways to make sure only allowed users can access your data. Here are some key features:
To set up access controls well, think about these best practices:
Use Azure public endpoints if you don’t need private connections and all data sources are SaaS applications.
Use private endpoints for complete network isolation and to block public access.
Use both account and portal private endpoints for secure connections to the Microsoft Purview governance portal.
Use Managed VNet integration runtime or self-hosted integration runtime for scanning data sources through private connections.
By using these access control measures, you can greatly lower the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information. This not only keeps your data safe but also helps you follow different regulations.
Best Practices for Policy Automation
Automating policies in Microsoft Purview can really help your data management. If you follow best practices, your policies will work well and meet your organization’s compliance needs.
Policy Templates
Using policy templates is very important for making your compliance processes easier. Microsoft Purview has many templates that you can change to fit your needs. Here are some steps to help you create and change your policies:
When you make a new DLP policy, choose the Create or customize advanced DLP rules option. This lets you set up the Incident reports for the High severity level.
Each Insider Risk Management policy from the Data leaks template can only have one DLP policy. Think about making a special DLP policy that combines different activities for triggering events.
Assign priority user groups from Insider Risk Management > Settings > Priority user groups to the policy. This makes sure the right people are watched closely.
Set up an HR connector or connect Communication Compliance risk signals to make the policy work better. This helps find potential risks more accurately.
By following these steps, you can adjust your policies to fit your organization’s needs while keeping them easy to manage and effective.
Monitoring Compliance
Watching compliance is very important for keeping your data management practices strong. Microsoft Purview gives you different metrics to help you check your compliance status. Here are some key metrics to think about:
The Compliance Manager in Microsoft Purview gives points for finishing improvement actions related to rules, standards, or policies. These points help build an overall compliance score, which helps you decide what to do next to improve your compliance. The starting score is based on the Microsoft 365 data protection baseline, which includes important controls for data protection and governance.
To avoid common mistakes when automating policies, keep these tips in mind:
Avoid Over-Classification: Over-classifying data can make things harder to access.
Don’t Neglect Privacy Considerations: It’s important to follow privacy rules like GDPR when making policies.
Resist Complicating Compliance Processes: Complicated rules can confuse people; simpler rules work better.
Do Not Ignore Training Needs: Proper training for staff is key for using Microsoft Purview well.
By using these best practices, you can make sure your policy automation meets rules and improves your data management strategy.
Building a Strong Security Program
Making a strong security program is very important for keeping your organization's data safe. You need to focus on training and awareness so everyone knows their part in keeping things secure.
Training and Awareness
Teaching your team about Microsoft Purview's features is very important. You can use different ways to boost awareness:
Workshops and Consultations: Hold sessions that help improve productivity and data safety.
Hands-On Guidance: Give practical training on managing insider risks and how to respond.
Scenario-Based Learning: Use real-life examples to show the newest features, like AI and machine learning.
By using these training methods, you help your team understand and classify sensitive data well. This knowledge allows them to use information protection steps, like setting up sensitivity labels and stopping data loss on different platforms.
Continuous Improvement
Always improving is key to keeping a good security program. You should check your processes often and change them as rules change. Here are some ideas to think about:
Define KPIs: Set key performance indicators that match your business goals to see how well your security works.
Monitor User Activity: Use tools like Power BI’s Usage Metrics to watch engagement and find areas to improve.
Foster Feedback: Encourage talks through platforms like Microsoft Teams to get ideas and fix any issues with user engagement.
Also, make sure your organization follows the rules. Setting up a collection policy and a Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policy can help watch and classify events, stopping unauthorized data exposure.
By focusing on training and continuous improvement, you can create a security program that not only keeps sensitive information safe but also changes with the data governance world.
Using Microsoft Purview can change how your organization manages data. Here are some important points:
A single platform is key for good data management.
Check your data needs and plan your setup carefully.
Always improving helps with compliance and data management issues.
Companies like Elkem have done well in just eight weeks by sorting and protecting sensitive data. By creating a special data governance team and matching policies with rules, you can encourage teamwork and make sure policies are well-developed. Use Microsoft Purview to boost your data governance and inspire new ideas. 🌟
FAQ
What is Microsoft Purview?
Microsoft Purview is a complete service that helps organizations manage data governance, compliance, and security. It has tools for classifying data, controlling access, and automating policies. This ensures that sensitive information is managed well.
How does Microsoft Purview help with compliance?
Microsoft Purview makes compliance easier by giving tools that check your compliance status against different rules. It supports frameworks like GDPR and PCI-DSS. This helps you manage risks and follow legal requirements.
What are domains and collections in Microsoft Purview?
Domains and collections are important parts of Microsoft Purview. Domains are specific areas of data. Collections group related data sources together. This setup helps you organize and manage your data well on the platform.
Can I customize data classifications in Microsoft Purview?
Yes, you can change data classifications in Microsoft Purview. The platform lets you create custom classifications that fit your organization’s needs. You can also use ready-made classifications for better data management.
How can I monitor compliance in Microsoft Purview?
You can check compliance in Microsoft Purview using built-in metrics and reports. The Compliance Manager gives you insights into your compliance status. This helps you track progress and find areas to improve.