Why Microsoft Purview is the best in-place data governance solution for Microsoft 365 environments

Effective data governance is critical in today’s digital landscape, where data underpins every business operation. Organisations are under growing pressure to ensure data is securely managed, governed in place, and compliant with evolving regulatory requirements – without compromising operational accessibility.

While many solutions claim to support in-place data management, Microsoft Purview stands out as a leading option for organisations using Microsoft 365. With native integration across the Microsoft ecosystem, advanced compliance features, and cost efficiency, Purview offers a scalable, unified platform for data governance, compliance management, and in-place records retention.

 

Core strengths of Microsoft Purview for secure and compliant data management

Microsoft Purview is an advanced data governance and compliance platform that helps organisations discover, classify, protect, and govern sensitive information across their entire data estate. Its key strengths include:

• Native integration with Microsoft 365: Purview offers seamless policy enforcement and governance across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive, and the broader Microsoft ecosystem — making it ideal for organisations already invested in Microsoft 365.

• AI-powered data classification and protection: Leverage machine learning, sensitivity labels, data loss prevention (DLP), and insider risk management to apply dynamic, context-aware protection across structured and unstructured data.

• Unified regulatory compliance management: Easily manage risk and meet compliance obligations across multiple jurisdictions using built-in policy templates, audit trails, and real-time reporting.

• Complete data lineage and visibility: Track data from creation to deletion with built-in data discovery, lineage mapping, and audit capabilities, supporting transparency, defensibility, and operational efficiency.

• Automated in-place records management: Apply retention policies, manage lifecycle stages, and perform defensible disposition without migrating data or interrupting business workflows.

• Integrated with Microsoft Security and Compliance ecosystem: Ensure consistent data protection, policy enforcement, and incident response across Microsoft Defender, Sentinel, and other Microsoft 365 compliance tools.

Unlocking data governance value from your Microsoft 365 E3 or E5 licence

Many Australian Government agencies and enterprises already hold Microsoft 365 E5 or E3 licences, making Microsoft Purview a cost-effective and strategic choice for enhancing data governance, compliance, and risk management.

• With a Microsoft 365 E5 licence, organisations gain access to the full Microsoft Purview feature set – including in-place data governance, advanced DLP, information protection, and regulatory compliance tools – at no additional cost.

• For those on an E3 plan, essential features such as compliance management and sensitivity-based data classification are included, with the flexibility to add more advanced capabilities as needed.

This means many organisations already have access to a powerful, enterprise-grade data governance platform without needing to invest in third-party tools or complex integrations. By leveraging existing Microsoft 365 licensing, agencies and enterprises can achieve streamlined, secure, and cost-efficient data management across their IT environments.

Microsoft Purview vs other compliance tools: What sets it apart

While some standalone data governance solutions claim to support in-place data management, they often introduce significant challenges – including higher total cost of ownership, complex integration requirements, and limited visibility across the broader IT environment.

Many of these tools require organisations to migrate data into proprietary systems or configure extensive custom rules and connectors, which increases setup time and ongoing maintenance effort.

More importantly, most point solutions lack direct control over the environments and data they monitor. While they may provide dashboards, analytics, and alerts, they often fall short in critical areas such as:

• Enforcing security policies at the source

• Managing user access permissions

• Applying data retention and lifecycle policies natively

These limitations lead to fragmented governance, increased risk exposure, and a reliance on multiple disconnected tools – making it harder to achieve consistent compliance and data protection across the enterprise.

By contrast, Microsoft Purview offers a native, fully integrated approach that eliminates these barriers, ensuring:

1. Lower total cost of ownership: No need for additional licensing costs if already on an E5 plan.
2. Faster deployment: As a Microsoft-native solution, Purview works seamlessly within existing environments, reducing setup and maintenance efforts.
3. Better security alignment: Works in concert with Microsoft Defender, Microsoft Sentinel, and other security tools to enhance protection.
4. Consistent compliance and governance: Ensures regulatory requirements are met across the entire Microsoft ecosystem without relying on disparate tools.
5. Direct security and access management: Unlike many point solutions, Purview allows organisations to control file security, manage access permissions, and enforce compliance policies directly within the Microsoft ecosystem.

 

Conclusion

For organisations – particularly within the Australian Government and other regulated industries — Microsoft Purview offers a cost-effective, fully integrated platform for managing data in place across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. With many agencies already licensed under Microsoft 365 E5 or E3, Purview unlocks immediate value by enhancing data governance, information protection, and regulatory compliance – all without the added cost or complexity of third-party tools.

While standalone solutions may offer niche functionality, they typically require extra investment, complex integrations, and ongoing maintenance – and they often lack the ability to directly enforce policies on data within native environments. In contrast, Microsoft Purview enables a unified, secure, and scalable approach to enterprise-wide compliance and data lifecycle management.

By leveraging existing Microsoft 365 investments, organisations can streamline their governance strategies, reduce risk, and implement a future-ready compliance framework – making Microsoft Purview the clear choice for modern, in-place data management.