This week, Microsoft made an interesting announcement – launching Microsoft Purview, bringing ‘almost’ all its Information Governance products under a single banner, and theoretically at least, into a single home. I say interesting, as, of course, we will have to see how this plays out over time, but it’s not an insignificant announcement. It follows a theme we have been noticing at Deep Analysis, with lots of interest in the concept of Information Governance. Alongside no clear definition as to what Information Governance is. At a minimum, the worlds of structured data management and file/content management are disconnected and see the world through different lenses. Hence it is notable that in Microsoft Purview, such varied products as Records Management, Compliance, and eDiscovery now live alongside and are in the same group as Azure Data Map, Catalog, and Insights.

We shall wait to see if this rebranding also leads to product bundling and closer collaboration between all the various teams involved in building these products. Of course, it would have been a much bigger announcement had the Microsoft Purview products been covered through enterprise license agreements, or for that matter rolled all the products under one license, but that may be something that will come down the line. Even so, such a move by such an influential force in the industry will make some waves. If only because it conceptually breaks many barriers down and can, at a minimum, be a start of more fruitful Governance conversations.

Again, Microsoft Purview is currently a rebranding exercise, pulling fifteen different products into a ‘suite’ formation. Rebranding is something Microsoft has been doing over the past couple of years. The only notable absence from the Microsoft Purview product suite is the privacy-related products, which sit separately under the Azure Priva banner. That’s a bit of a headscratcher, but you have to draw the line somewhere, and privacy technologies straddle the world of compliance and security. In all honesty, the name (Purview) is also a bit of a headscratcher, but then so many software product names are; at least its not spelled PurView though I guarantee it was suggested at some point 🙂

So why bother writing about this rebranding exercise? Simply because the level of interest in Information Governance is so high, as we recently wrote, it is a topic that seems amorphous. Such a meta bundling as Microsoft Purview, intentionally or not, downgrades many standalone products and approaches and clarifies that they are not in and of themselves ‘solutions.’ Instead, they are piece parts of a much broader and strategic problem to solve. Security, Data Governance, Records Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Data Privacy concerns are all part and parcel of the same end goals of not getting into trouble and controlling your data assets. And that in our opinion is a good thing.

If you want to know about Information Governance products, strategies or our thoughts on this announcement be sure to ping us so that we can chat.