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Microsoft Purview is a service that helps organizations manage and govern their data across different locations. It gives a unified view of all data, no matter where it lives—whether in Azure, in other clouds, or on local computers. Purview finds data automatically, classifies it (like tagging personal information as private), and shows who can access it. This helps companies follow rules about data privacy and make sure sensitive information is protected.
Purview simplifies compliance by creating a map of all data assets and applying consistent rules across them. It can scan databases, files, and services to identify what kind of data they contain. When Purview finds sensitive data, it can apply labels that tell other services how to handle that data. This makes it easier for companies to prove they are following laws like GDPR or HIPAA.
Azure Policy is a service that lets administrators set rules for resources in Azure. These rules, called policies, can require that resources meet certain standards before they are created or changed. For example, a policy might require all storage accounts to use encryption, or forbid creating virtual machines in certain regions. When someone tries to create a resource that breaks a policy, Azure blocks the action and explains why.
Policies work at the subscription level or on smaller groups of resources, so teams can apply different rules to different projects. Azure Policy evaluates resources continuously, not just when they are created, so it can catch problems that appear later. If a resource becomes non-compliant over time (perhaps because a setting was changed), the policy will flag it. This automatic enforcement helps keep the entire Azure environment following the organization's rules without requiring manual checks.
Resource locks protect Azure resources from accidental changes or deletions. A lock can be set to ReadOnly, which stops anyone from modifying or deleting the resource, or CanNotDelete, which lets changes happen but prevents deletion. When a lock is applied, even administrators who normally have full permissions cannot perform the locked action. The lock stays in place until someone with the right permissions removes it.
Locks provide a safety net for critical resources like production databases, key vaults, or network security groups. They create a firm boundary that prevents mistakes from causing outages or data loss. Locks work alongside other governance tools like Azure Policy: Policy might require certain settings, while locks ensure those settings cannot be changed. Together, they create layers of protection that help maintain a stable, compliant environment.
A concept map showing how policy definitions and initiative definitions are grouped and applied via policy assignments to a specific scope, with policy effects determining the enforcement action on resources.
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Microsoft Purview is a service that helps organizations manage and govern their data across different locations by providing a unified view, automatically finding and classifying data, and showing who can access it. It simplifies compliance by creating a map of all data assets and applying consistent rules to help follow data privacy laws like GDPR or HIPAA.
Azure Policy enforces governance by letting administrators set rules that require resources to meet certain standards before they are created or changed, and it continuously evaluates resources to catch problems that appear later. It works at the subscription level or on smaller groups of resources and automatically blocks non-compliant actions or flags non-compliant resources to keep the environment following the organization's rules.
Azure resource locks protect resources from accidental changes or deletions by applying either a ReadOnly lock, which stops any modification or deletion, or a CanNotDelete lock, which allows changes but prevents deletion. They provide a safety net for critical resources, creating a firm boundary that prevents mistakes from causing outages or data loss, even for administrators with full permissions.
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