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Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 3, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.6
Microsoft Purview Data Governance offers significant returns with improved data management, cost savings, and enhanced compliance and risk mitigation.
Sentiment score
7.2
Microsoft Purview Information Protection enhances security, ensures compliance, reduces costs, and improves efficiency by automating data protection and governance.
Clients benefit from using a one-stop-shop solution, increasing their visibility across different platforms.
Purview can do a quick scan, and it doesn't use human resources, so it gets time to do things that we need humans to focus on.
The cost of data loss and your data going to a competitor is potentially massive.
It does meet the security objective of protecting the data.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
5.9
Microsoft Purview Data Governance support is generally positive, but users report varied experiences based on responsiveness, expertise, and resources.
Sentiment score
4.7
Users report mixed customer service experiences with Microsoft Purview, noting slow response times and inadequate communication despite some improvements.
Overall, it doesn't meet our expectations.
They're skillful people who know what they're doing in their space.
I have a dedicated team as a government agency, and Microsoft assists us promptly.
Sometimes, I get a fast and knowledgeable response, while other times, I've experienced delays and received no resolution.
It's hard to be an ambassador for a product when you know it will be hard to get support.
After our issues are reported, it takes a long time to find a resolution.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Microsoft Purview Data Governance efficiently handles scalable data sources in Azure, though challenges exist with network load and data ingestion.
Sentiment score
7.4
Microsoft Purview Information Protection is scalable for large workloads, but speed and policy update intervals could be improved.
With automation, you can label five documents or 50,000 with the same amount of clicks.
It allows for one-to-one connections with different types of servers, either cloud-based like AWS, or physical servers.
The product is scalable and works across multi-cloud and multi-platform environments.
It can be scaled across different departments organization-wide very quickly and easily.
It can handle large collections of data without issues.
Scalability can be improved by reducing these intervals.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is generally stable and reliable, though minor bugs and occasional lag may occur.
Sentiment score
7.4
Purview remains reliable and stable, performing well at scale with minor issues and continuous upgrades through its SaaS model.
It can take seven days to 24 hours to determine whether a policy is effective.
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is absolutely fine in terms of stability.
Once implemented, I haven't had issues with its consistency.
The solution is stable overall.
 

Room For Improvement

Microsoft Purview needs better integration, enhanced features, clearer documentation, and improved system configuration for complex environments.
Microsoft Purview Information Protection needs enhancements in integration, affordability, reporting, AI, feature reintroduction, and comprehensive data protection.
It's essential to know if a feature isn't working due to missing licenses.
There are some problems with DLP rules, and it would be great if the security around DLP could be expanded.
A watermark feature or similar tools to help enhance security for end users could be added.
Effectiveness in Microsoft Purview Information Protection means enforcing the policy and making sure it works consistently across non-Microsoft products as well.
Having a roadmap or updates about new releases would be helpful for demonstrating to clients.
Clarifying product features and use cases would help avoid such confusion.
 

Setup Cost

Microsoft Purview Data Governance offers competitive pricing and cost control benefits, appealing to enterprises with existing Microsoft licenses.
Microsoft Purview Information Protection offers competitive pricing, attractive bundling, and flexible licensing options, appealing to enterprise buyers.
The feature might be available in the console, but it won't work without the proper license, creating confusion.
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs.
I'm not exactly sure how much our license costs, but it is very expensive.
I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started.
Our focus is on helping customers maximize their software investment.
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine.
 

Valuable Features

Microsoft Purview ensures data security, compliance, and efficiency with integration, data cataloging, lineage tracking, and multi-platform connectivity.
Microsoft Purview excels in data protection with encryption, labeling, cross-platform security, and seamless integration, enhancing compliance and efficiency.
It provides a comprehensive view of the entire ecosystem's threats and compliance in real time.
The sensitivity labeling is the most valuable feature because it is the foundation for automating the encryption process and ensuring proper data handling across the organization.
Microsoft Purview Data Governance has helped my company by finding insider risks, ensuring data loss prevention, and achieving compliance to make sure everybody is compliant.
Microsoft Copilot is an advantage because it's enterprise-grade AI.
It's paramount to have a single solution for information protection.
Regardless of the education, the employee might share the information anyway, so the AI shouldn't be the first point of failure. It should be a human making good decisions.
 

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...
Ranking in Data Governance
1st
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
8th
Average Rating
7.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
58
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Purview Informati...
Ranking in Data Governance
4th
Ranking in Microsoft Security Suite
14th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Data Privacy Management Software (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 23.2%, down from 25.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is 2.5%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

James McDowall - PeerSpot reviewer
The sensitivity and retention options in Purview are excellent
Some of the menu headings may not be easy to understand for some people. For example, when I first used Purview, I noticed that one of the self-compliance centers had changed its name. Microsoft has done a huge amount of updates, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of what Purview can do. We almost constantly have to explore it. Maybe Microsoft could have a 365 roadmap where we can look at upcoming features, or some kind of bulletin announcement for Purview users that explains new features and what they can do in simple terms. We could also look at the menu settings. In my experience of using Purview, we've never used it as an exclusive system for IT professionals or technical staff. We were very keen that other specialists around the business made use of some of these features because we thought that some of what Purview could do was relevant to other departments as well as IT. For example, we have HR managers and financial staff who use it. I think that some of the terminology in Purview is pitched toward IT and tech professionals, and it may not be immediately understood by other specialists. This is something that could be improved.
Heidi Hasting - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data, but the changing product names are confusing
One of the key features of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is the auto-classification functionalities, although I have found them to be less effective in complex scenarios. The policy toggle, demanding justification for downgrading labels, provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data. The security tools integrate well. I like that you can scan several data or informational assets, such as your SharePoint list, Teams, etc., and bring them into Purview as a central repository. Partnering with other products, like Sentinel, for logging capability and inventory provides a service across the board. It's essential that Purview automatically prevents highly sensitive corporate secrets and data from being ingested into generative AI models, but the reality is that AI is a tool. It's problematic if consumers rely on a tool to protect them because they must be educated first. Regardless of the education, the employee might share the information anyway, so the AI shouldn't be the first point of failure. It should be a human making good decisions.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
15%
Computer Software Company
14%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Retailer
7%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Microsoft Azure Purview?
It is designed to seamlessly connect to various data sources, which is particularly beneficial for our customers who primarily use Microsoft technologies.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?
Microsoft Purview Data Governance is quite affordable compared to other market solutions, which have high initial costs. It allows for a cost-effective start with negligible initial cost. However, ...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?
There should be more clarity about the costing, particularly how the cost is calculated, especially when utilizing health reports and quality features. Additionally, adding more tools around data q...
What do you like most about Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
It ensures that sensitive data is automatically safeguarded, even for email attachments, regardless of the user or device.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine. Microsoft offers different licensing options. AIP Plan 2 is used for critical users. The AIP is included in the business standard license for cl...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The most difficult part in the labeling solution is the lack of direct PDF support on Macs, whereas on Windows, a Purview agent can label PDFs. This should be improved to support PDF protection on ...
 

Also Known As

Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview
Microsoft Information Protection
 

Overview

Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Microsoft Purview Information Protection and other solutions. Updated: April 2025.
850,671 professionals have used our research since 2012.