Azure Fundamentals: Microsoft.Purview

Unlocking Data Insights: A Deep Dive into Microsoft Purview

Imagine you're the Chief Data Officer at a large retail chain. You've invested heavily in modernizing your data infrastructure, migrating workloads to Azure, and embracing a multi-cloud strategy. You have data scattered across on-premises SQL Servers, Azure Data Lake Storage, Snowflake, and even some legacy systems. Your data scientists are struggling to find the right data, understand its lineage, and trust its quality. Compliance regulations like GDPR and CCPA loom large, demanding a clear understanding of where sensitive data resides. This isn't just a hypothetical scenario; it's the reality for many organizations today. According to a recent Gartner report, less than 20% of organizations have a comprehensive data governance program in place, leading to significant risks and missed opportunities. The rise of cloud-native applications, zero-trust security models, and hybrid identity solutions have further complicated data management. This is where Microsoft Purview comes in.

What is Microsoft Purview?

Microsoft Purview is a unified data governance service designed to help organizations manage, protect, and understand their data across their entire data estate – on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS. Think of it as a central nervous system for your data, providing a single pane of glass for discovery, classification, lineage tracking, and data access control. It's not just a tool; it's a platform that empowers data professionals, data scientists, and business users to make informed decisions based on trustworthy data.

At its core, Purview solves the problems of data silos, lack of data visibility, and difficulty in enforcing data governance policies. It addresses the challenges of data sprawl, where data is scattered across numerous systems and formats, making it difficult to locate and understand. It also tackles the issue of data quality, ensuring that data is accurate, complete, and consistent.

Major Components:

• Data Map: A centralized metadata repository that automatically discovers and catalogs data assets across your environment. It creates a comprehensive inventory of your data, including schemas, descriptions, and ownership information.
• Data Catalog: Allows users to search and browse the Data Map, discover relevant data assets, and understand their context. It provides a business glossary to define common data terms and ensure consistent understanding.
• Data Lineage: Visually tracks the movement and transformation of data from its source to its destination. This helps understand data dependencies, identify potential data quality issues, and comply with regulatory requirements.
• Data Sensitivity Classification: Automatically identifies and classifies sensitive data, such as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI). This enables organizations to implement appropriate data protection measures.
• Microsoft Purview Audit: Provides auditing and reporting capabilities to track data access and usage.

Companies like Starbucks and Siemens are leveraging Microsoft Purview to improve data governance, enhance data quality, and accelerate data-driven innovation. For example, Starbucks uses Purview to manage its customer data and ensure compliance with privacy regulations.

Why Use Microsoft Purview?

Before Purview, organizations often relied on manual processes, spreadsheets, and disparate tools to manage their data. This led to several challenges:

• Data Silos: Data was locked away in different systems, making it difficult to integrate and analyze.
• Lack of Data Visibility: Organizations didn't have a clear understanding of what data they had, where it was located, and who owned it.
• Data Quality Issues: Inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent data led to flawed insights and poor decision-making.
• Compliance Risks: Difficulty in identifying and protecting sensitive data increased the risk of regulatory violations.
• Slow Time to Insight: Data scientists spent too much time finding and preparing data, rather than analyzing it.

User Cases:

1. Financial Services – Regulatory Compliance: A bank needs to comply with BCBS 239, which requires them to have a comprehensive understanding of their data lineage and risk data aggregation capabilities. Purview helps them track the flow of data from source systems to risk reports, ensuring accuracy and transparency.
2. Healthcare – HIPAA Compliance: A hospital needs to protect patient data in accordance with HIPAA regulations. Purview automatically identifies and classifies PHI, enabling them to implement appropriate access controls and data masking techniques.
3. Retail – Customer 360: A retailer wants to create a 360-degree view of their customers. Purview helps them discover and integrate customer data from various sources, such as CRM systems, marketing platforms, and point-of-sale systems.

Key Features and Capabilities

1. Automated Data Discovery: Automatically scans and catalogs data sources, eliminating the need for manual inventorying. Use Case: Quickly identify all tables containing customer addresses.
   

   graph LR
       A[Data Source (SQL Server, ADLS)] --> B(Purview Scanner);
       B --> C{Metadata Extraction};
       C --> D[Data Map];
   

2. Business Glossary: Defines common data terms and ensures consistent understanding across the organization. Use Case: Standardize the definition of "Customer Lifetime Value."

3. Data Lineage (Visual & Technical): Tracks data movement and transformation, providing a clear understanding of data dependencies. Use Case: Trace the origin of a specific metric in a dashboard.

4. Data Classification (Built-in & Custom): Automatically identifies and classifies sensitive data. Use Case: Detect and tag all columns containing credit card numbers.

5. Data Sensitivity Labels: Apply labels to data assets to indicate their sensitivity level. Use Case: Mark data as "Confidential" or "Public."

6. Data Access Control: Manage access to data assets based on roles and permissions. Use Case: Restrict access to sensitive data to authorized personnel.

7. Search & Discovery: Powerful search capabilities to quickly find relevant data assets. Use Case: Locate all datasets related to "Sales Performance."

8. Atlas Integration: Seamless integration with Apache Atlas, an open-source metadata management and governance framework. Use Case: Leverage existing Atlas metadata in Purview.

9. Data Quality Insights: Provides insights into data quality issues, such as missing values and inconsistencies. Use Case: Identify tables with a high percentage of null values.

10. Microsoft Purview Audit (formerly Microsoft Information Protection Audit): Tracks data access and usage for auditing and compliance purposes. Use Case: Monitor who accessed sensitive customer data.

Detailed Practical Use Cases

1. Pharmaceuticals – Drug Discovery: Problem: Researchers struggle to find relevant clinical trial data scattered across multiple systems. Solution: Purview catalogs all clinical trial data, including patient demographics, treatment protocols, and outcome measures. Outcome: Researchers can quickly find the data they need, accelerating drug discovery.
2. Manufacturing – Supply Chain Optimization: Problem: Lack of visibility into the origin and quality of raw materials. Solution: Purview tracks the lineage of raw materials from suppliers to finished products. Outcome: Improved supply chain transparency and reduced risk of defects.
3. Insurance – Fraud Detection: Problem: Difficulty in identifying fraudulent claims due to data silos. Solution: Purview integrates data from various sources, such as claims systems, policy databases, and external fraud databases. Outcome: Improved fraud detection rates and reduced financial losses.
4. Government – Citizen Services: Problem: Ensuring data privacy and compliance with regulations like GDPR. Solution: Purview classifies sensitive citizen data and enforces access controls. Outcome: Enhanced data privacy and compliance.
5. Energy – Grid Optimization: Problem: Analyzing data from smart meters and sensors to optimize grid performance. Solution: Purview catalogs and governs data from various sources, enabling data scientists to build predictive models. Outcome: Improved grid reliability and reduced energy consumption.
6. Education – Student Data Privacy: Problem: Protecting student data and complying with FERPA regulations. Solution: Purview identifies and classifies student data, enabling schools to implement appropriate data protection measures. Outcome: Enhanced student data privacy and compliance.

Architecture and Ecosystem Integration

Microsoft Purview integrates seamlessly with the broader Azure ecosystem and beyond. It leverages Azure Data Lake Storage for metadata storage and Azure Synapse Analytics for data processing. It also integrates with Power BI for data visualization and reporting.

graph LR
    A[On-Premises Data Sources] --> B(Purview Scanner);
    C[Azure Data Sources (ADLS, SQL DB)] --> B;
    D[SaaS Applications (Salesforce, ServiceNow)] --> B;
    B --> E[Microsoft Purview Data Map];
    E --> F{Data Catalog};
    E --> G[Data Lineage];
    E --> H[Data Sensitivity Classification];
    F --> I[Power BI];
    G --> I;
    H --> J[Azure Policy];
    J --> K[Data Access Control];

Integrations:

• Azure Data Factory: Purview can be used to track the lineage of data pipelines created in Azure Data Factory.
• Azure Synapse Analytics: Purview can catalog and govern data stored in Azure Synapse Analytics.
• Azure Databricks: Purview can integrate with Azure Databricks to track data lineage and enforce data governance policies.
• Power BI: Purview can provide data lineage information for Power BI reports and dashboards.
• Azure Policy: Purview can integrate with Azure Policy to enforce data governance policies.

Hands-On: Step-by-Step Tutorial (Azure Portal)

Let's walk through creating a Purview account and scanning a sample Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2 account.

1. Create a Purview Account: In the Azure portal, search for "Microsoft Purview" and click "Create." Provide a name, resource group, location, and pricing tier.
2. Register Data Sources: Once the account is provisioned, navigate to the Purview account. Under "Data Map," click "Sources" and then "Register." Select "Azure Data Lake Storage Gen2" and provide the necessary details (subscription, storage account name, etc.).
3. Create a Scan: After registering the data source, click "New scan." Provide a scan name, select the data source, and configure the scan rules (e.g., include or exclude specific folders).
4. Run the Scan: Start the scan and monitor its progress. Purview will automatically discover and catalog the data assets in your storage account.
5. Browse the Data Catalog: Once the scan is complete, browse the Data Catalog to view the discovered data assets. You can search for specific tables, columns, or keywords.

(Screenshots would be included here in a real blog post to illustrate each step.)

Pricing Deep Dive

Microsoft Purview pricing is based on three main components:

• Purview Units: Used for scanning, cataloging, and lineage tracking. Pricing varies based on the region.
• Storage: Cost for storing metadata in the Data Map.
• Data Access: Charges for accessing data assets through Purview.

As of October 2023, a Purview unit costs approximately $20 per hour. Storage costs are relatively low. Data access charges are based on the amount of data scanned.

Cost Optimization Tips:

• Schedule Scans: Run scans during off-peak hours to minimize costs.
• Limit Scan Scope: Only scan the data assets that are relevant to your governance requirements.
• Use Custom Classifiers: Reduce the need for expensive built-in classifiers by creating custom classifiers.

Cautionary Note: Purview unit costs can quickly add up if you have a large data estate and frequent scanning requirements. Carefully plan your scanning strategy and monitor your usage to avoid unexpected costs.

Security, Compliance, and Governance

Microsoft Purview is built with security and compliance in mind. It supports role-based access control (RBAC), data encryption at rest and in transit, and integration with Azure Active Directory. It is compliant with various industry standards, including GDPR, CCPA, and HIPAA. Purview also provides auditing and reporting capabilities to track data access and usage.

Integration with Other Azure Services

1. Azure Synapse Analytics: Purview provides metadata for Synapse workspaces, enabling data discovery and governance.
2. Azure Data Factory: Purview tracks data lineage for Data Factory pipelines.
3. Azure Databricks: Purview integrates with Databricks for data cataloging and lineage tracking.
4. Azure Information Protection: Purview leverages AIP labels for data classification and protection.
5. Microsoft Defender for Cloud: Purview integrates with Defender for Cloud to provide security insights and recommendations.

Comparison with Other Services

Decision Advice: If you need a comprehensive data governance solution with automated data discovery, data lineage, and data classification, Microsoft Purview is the best choice. AWS Glue Data Catalog is a good option if you are already heavily invested in the AWS ecosystem. Google Cloud Data Catalog is suitable for organizations that primarily use Google Cloud services and prefer a manual metadata tagging approach.

Common Mistakes and Misconceptions

1. Treating Purview as a "Set it and Forget it" Solution: Purview requires ongoing maintenance and monitoring.
2. Scanning Everything: Focus on scanning only the data assets that are critical to your governance requirements.
3. Ignoring the Business Glossary: The Business Glossary is essential for ensuring consistent understanding of data terms.
4. Not Defining Clear Data Governance Policies: Purview is a tool, but it needs to be supported by clear policies and procedures.
5. Underestimating the Cost: Carefully plan your scanning strategy and monitor your usage to avoid unexpected costs.

Pros and Cons Summary

Pros:

• Unified data governance platform
• Automated data discovery and cataloging
• Comprehensive data lineage tracking
• Built-in data classification and sensitivity labeling
• Seamless integration with Azure ecosystem

Cons:

• Can be expensive, especially for large data estates
• Requires ongoing maintenance and monitoring
• Steep learning curve for some features

Best Practices for Production Use

• Implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Restrict access to Purview resources based on roles and permissions.
• Monitor Purview Usage: Track Purview unit consumption and identify areas for optimization.
• Automate Scanning: Schedule scans to run automatically during off-peak hours.
• Define Data Governance Policies: Establish clear policies and procedures for data management and protection.
• Regularly Review and Update Metadata: Ensure that the Data Map is accurate and up-to-date.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Microsoft Purview is a powerful data governance service that can help organizations unlock the value of their data while mitigating risks and ensuring compliance. It's a critical component of any modern data strategy, especially in today's complex data landscape. As data continues to grow in volume and complexity, the need for robust data governance solutions like Purview will only increase.

Ready to take the next step? Start a free trial of Microsoft Purview today and begin your journey towards data governance excellence. Explore the documentation and community resources to learn more about the service's capabilities and best practices. Don't let your data become a liability – empower it with Microsoft Purview.