Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs Varonis Platform comparison

Microsoft and Varonis are both solutions in the Data Governance category. Microsoft is ranked #1 with an average rating of 7.6, while Varonis is ranked #7 with an average rating of 8.0. Microsoft holds a 25.0% mindshare in DG, compared to Varonis’s 8.2% mindshare. Additionally, 83% of Microsoft users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 92% of Varonis users who would recommend it.

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...

Read 56 Microsoft Purview Data Governance reviews

19,977 Views
10,233 Comparison Views

83% willing to recommend

Varonis Platform

Read 14 Varonis Platform reviews

3,255 Views
2,742 Comparison Views

92% willing to recommend

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...

Varonis Platform

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 12, 2025

Microsoft Purview and Varonis Platform compete in data governance, with Purview having an advantage due to its integration with Azure for those within the Microsoft ecosystem, while Varonis is favored for security and compliance monitoring.

Features: Microsoft Purview offers seamless integration with Azure and other Microsoft products, extensive data classification, and multi-cloud capabilities. Varonis Platform excels in detailed data access monitoring, comprehensive security features, and compliance management tools.

Room for Improvement: Microsoft Purview could enhance non-Microsoft integrations, real-time data lineage, and clarify licensing options. Varonis Platform users seek a more intuitive interface, a simplified setup process, and enhanced customization features.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Microsoft Purview is ideal for public cloud or hybrid environments with existing Azure infrastructures, though customer service experiences vary. Varonis Platform supports various deployment options including on-premises but faces challenges with its complex initial setup and mixed customer service reviews.

Pricing and ROI: Microsoft Purview is cost-effective, particularly for Microsoft 365 users, despite complex licensing. Varonis Platform is pricier, justified by its extensive security features, targeting larger enterprises looking for a comprehensive solution. Both platforms promise valuable ROI in efficiency and security.

To learn more, read our detailed Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Varonis Platform Report (Updated: January 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Varonis Platform

January 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Microsoft Purview Data Gove...

Ranking in Data Governance

1st

Average Rating

7.8

Reviews Sentiment

6.9

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Microsoft Security Suite (8th)

Varonis Platform

Ranking in Data Governance

7th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) (12th), SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM) (5th), Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) (8th), Compliance Management (8th), Ransomware Protection (9th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of Microsoft Purview Data Governance is 25.0%, down from 25.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Varonis Platform is 8.2%, up from 5.9% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Data Governance

Q&A Highlights

Peter-Param

Manager Cyber Security at AnglicareSA

Feb 04, 2025

What are the main differences between Varonis and Microsoft Purview?

Microsoft Purview offers seamless integration with Azure and other Microsoft products, extensive data classification, and multi-cloud capabilities. Varonis Platform excels in detailed data access monitoring, comprehensive security features, and compliance management tools. Hope this helps.

See all answers

Featured Reviews

James McDowall

Senior Microsoft Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

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.

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Frederic Delos

Senior Cloud Engineer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

Offers the ability to identify sensitive areas, allowing you to drill down into the sensitive data

The most effective feature for me is its ability to identify sensitive areas, allowing you to drill down into the sensitive data, provided you have access, to determine whether it's a false positive or a true positive. That's the best thing for me, out of all of it. It's got everything, like other ones, but I like to be able to look at something if I'm doing forensics on the alert and say, "Okay, do I really need to do something with this?" For example, we don't want sensitive data in our OneDrive. So it identifies the sensitive data that's possibly in the OneDrive. And what I can do is look at it and identify whether it's actually sensitive data in Datalert or whether it looks like sensitive data, but I know it's a false positive. If it is a false positive, I can basically say ignore this pattern based on X, Y, and Z, you know, whether it's Redjax or keyword proximity. So I like that. With other tools, I gotta go through a whole process because it's a little bit more complex. Here, I can tag it and bag it in one shot. And the next good time I scan, it slips over it. So it helps in that.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product has helped us save both time and money."

"The ability to classify data quickly and effortlessly is arguably Microsoft Purview's most valuable feature."

"One way that Microsoft Purview has benefited our organization is by preventing data leakage, which saves the company money on fines and protects its reputation."

"It is very easy to learn the interface, and it is very user-friendly."

"Instead of having to manually write down which tables and columns exist and then describe them, you can do that process in one go, by simply connecting to a source. That's a huge time-saver and a great benefit of Purview."

"The best part is that I can create classifications per my requirements. I use it to classify multiple platforms like AWS, GCP, Azure, and different file sharing systems."

"The user interface is highly intuitive and user-friendly."

"The data protection feature is vital as it controls who can access data when it moves out of our protected boundary."

More Microsoft Purview Data Governance pros

"It can easily identify unusual behavior or access patterns that may pose a potential threat, while operating as a unified reporting system."

"That alerting and reporting service is great."

"The analytics would have to be our most valuable feature."

"The most important feature is remediation. In remediation support, there is no group permission. We'll go ahead and remediate the access from the Dell folder to the parent folder."

"The solution ensures that users have not accidentally shared sensitive information with the wrong people or too many people."

"Varonis offers robust data access governance, allowing us to understand which sensitive data exists and who has access to it."

"The solution's classification engine is highly configurable and efficient."

"There's also a 90-day policy where if a user is not using the warehouse, it will automatically delete that username."

More Varonis Platform pros

Cons

"One area for improvement is the detection of data types. This is really important. It has some of that functionality, but I consider it very limited. Maybe they can add some custom programming or machine learning could be particularly useful for the detection of the nature of the data."

"We have had some issues automating our document management with Power Apps. I haven't been super-disappointed with anything except for Power Apps, which kinda drives me nuts. I think it's because I am a coder who can do things properly, and I keep trying to do things there, but it's not working out the way. The security team is pretty quick. I'm kind of a thorn in their side. I always try to get around stuff. They haven't come to me for anything saying, "Hey, I can't find this information." They're pretty good. Maybe, there's a lack of documentation, but that doesn't seem to be an issue for our team."

"The current event-based retention management is very poor."

"The API needs some improvement when connecting to non-Microsoft API sources. This is a limiting factor."

"I'd like to see them improve the training for implementing this type of solution."

"We haven't really gotten too far into it to identify areas for improvement just yet."

"Licensing is frustrating due to multiple modules and licenses. The feature might be available in the console, but it won't work without the proper license, creating confusion."

"Running eDiscovery once a day takes quite a long time because it has to fetch your data. I also want the eDiscovery results to be improved. At the same time, I would like to get a centralized page where I could see records management applied to my Office 365 tenant visualized instead of waiting for a custom script to run through the complete tenant."

More Microsoft Purview Data Governance cons

"It is significantly complex."

"The product is very complicated."

"The solution's areas of improvement are the interface and the dependency on on-premises deployment for some components."

"Varonis requires more access permissions for its core functions compared to competitors, which can be a concern for companies about data safety."

"For unstructured data monitoring, it's one of the top ones, if not the top one, due to its usability."

"The GUI should be more functional. There should be a process for connecting through Chrome, Internet Explorer, etc."

"We have Microsoft Office 365. I just saw an article today which says that they're actually getting integrated with Microsoft Office 365, which would be a useful feature. For user-based reports, log on activity, and stuff like that, it doesn't seem to really be present like Log360. That could just be my inexperience with it. I've been dealing with it for only about two and a half months."

"One area for improvement is the calculation engine. When applying rules in Varonis, especially for large datasets (terabytes of data), the calculations can be slow and require time to process. Speeding up this process would be beneficial."

More Varonis Platform cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is cheap. It is based on consumption. If somebody wants to start using it, the price is definitely cheaper than a tool like Collibra."

"The pricing is decent. It is neither too low nor too high. Given its capabilities, the pricing is justified."

"The categorization within the licensing could be improved. There are a lot of solutions within Microsoft Purview. If the licensing could be a bit clearer and the solutions could be better categorized according to function and across multiple environments, that would be excellent. The licensing is very confusing."

"The solution is extremely affordable for the K-12 space."

"To get the full features of Purview, we currently need E5 enterprise licenses, which are expensive."

"Currently, the licensing differs for the governance side compared to the risk and compliance side."

"The interesting part is how they are bundling the version into the E5 stack. If it was not for that inclusion, this would have been a difficult conversation for us, so kudos to Microsoft on that. Separating it out may become a problem for customer retention. It is definitely a good move on Microsoft's part to include it as part of any existing or any system upgrades for customers that were on E3."

"The pricing is moderate. It's not too expensive, but it's not the most competitive."

More Microsoft Purview Data Governance pricing and cost advice

"Licensing is on an annual basis. Maintenance and renewal fees are separate. Varonis Datalert is quite expensive."

"The platform is expensive. I rate the pricing a nine out of ten."

"The pricing is good. It neither expensive nor cheap. It is average."

"You could do a subscription, where you pay yearly, or you could purchase it outright. The licensing cost is based on the number of users on the system that you are monitoring."

"Varonis Platform wasn't certainly the cheapest solution."

"It's expensive, kind of, really expensive."

"I would rate the pricing an eight out of ten, with ten being the most expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

14%

Computer Software Company

13%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

16%

Computer Software Company

11%

Manufacturing Company

10%

Insurance Company

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.

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Azure Purview?

The auto-tagging feature should be available at a lower licensing level.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Microsoft Azure Purview?

Auto-tagging should be available at lower levels of licensing. Right now, a high level of licensing is needed for auto-tagging, and this feature should be made available at a lower license level.

See all answers

What do you like most about Varonis Platform?

The solution has significantly improved data security and compliance posture by allowing us to track and monitor activities. We can see who accesses data and when files are created and understand w...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Varonis Platform?

The solution's areas of improvement are the interface and the dependency on on-premises deployment for some components. The interface has improved with the move to a SaaS model, but aspects could s...

See all answers

What is your primary use case for Varonis Platform?

Customers use the product to identify sensitive information, correlate it with access permissions, and utilize its automation engine for remediation. It includes fixing broken permissions and manag...

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 19% of the time

Collibra Lineage vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance

Compared 9% of the time

Alation Data Catalog vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance

Compared 8% of the time

Microsoft Intune vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance

Compared 6% of the time

Informatica Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) vs Microsoft Purview Data Governance

Compared 5% of the time

More Microsoft Purview Data Governance Competitors

BigID vs Varonis Platform

Compared 13% of the time

Cyera vs Varonis Platform

Compared 10% of the time

Wiz vs Varonis Platform

Compared 6% of the time

CrowdStrike Falcon vs Varonis Platform

Compared 4% of the time

Rubrik vs Varonis Platform

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Purview Data Governance

February 2025

Microsoft Purview Data Governance report

Download Microsoft Purview Data Governance product report

Buyer's Guide

Varonis Platform

January 2025

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Also Known As

Microsoft Purview, MS Azure Purview

No data available

Overview

The new Microsoft Purview portal offers an enhanced governance experience, serving as a unified platform for managing and governing data across various sources, including Azure, Microsoft 365, on-premises, and multicloud environments. Designed to streamline governance, compliance, risk, and security efforts, the new portal provides a user-friendly interface and unlocks advanced features like live view and preset scans. Existing users of Microsoft Purview can upgrade to this enhanced experience, gaining access to improved user interface, enhanced capabilities, and consolidated management of data assets. Additionally, the upgrade sets the stage for future developments, including account consolidation and fine-grained access control.

Microsoft

Varonis Platform specializes in network security and data monitoring with modules for alerting, data classification, and access management, benefiting environments like Microsoft 365.

Varonis is designed to secure data by auditing and tracking data movement. It leverages data alert and classification modules to identify and manage sensitive information. The platform enhances network security by alerting users to unexpected data modifications and deletions, crucial for effective data loss prevention. It supports unstructured data management, ensuring proper data access and permission controls. Known for its 24/7 support, Varonis offers comprehensive analytics and unified reporting, helping prevent data overexposure and facilitating compliance efforts.

What are the key features of Varonis Platform?

24/7 Support: Provides round-the-clock assistance.
Data Monitoring: Tracks data activities efficiently.
Unified Reporting: Consolidates data access reports.
Data Classification: Identifies sensitive data effectively.
Permission Management: Simplifies managing access rights.
Behavior Analytics: Detects abnormal behavior patterns.

What benefits should be highlighted in user reviews?

Enhanced Security: Improves data protection measures.
Compliance Support: Assists in meeting compliance standards.
Data Transparency: Offers clarity in data access activities.
Access Control: Ensures proper access to data.
Centralized Remediation: Eases remediation procedures.

Varonis Platform is widely utilized in industries needing stringent data confidentiality and management, such as finance and healthcare, for tracking data modifications and unauthorized access. Enterprises deploy it to manage permissions within large datasets, benefiting Microsoft 365 environments. While Varonis requires enhancements in cloud integration, the current deployment is often based on-premises, with attention to addressing the security needs and effective data handling for critical infrastructure.

Varonis

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Nottingham Building Society

Buyer's Guide

Microsoft Purview Data Governance vs. Varonis Platform

January 2025

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