Azure Purview automates the discovery and cataloging of data on-premises, in the cloud, and in SaaS applications. Credit: ivanastar / Getty Images Microsoft on December 3 introduced a preview of a cloud-based data governance service, called Azure Purview, to help organizations understand and manage their data. Free until January 1, Azure Purview automates the discovery and cataloging of data on-premises, in the cloud, and in SaaS applications. Information needed to govern data and assess compliance risks is gathered. Microsoft said the service enables the creation of a holistic, up-to-date map of the company’s entire data landscape. Billed as the next generation of the data catalog, Azure Purview purports to reduce costs on multiple fronts, including reducing efforts to discover and classify data while eliminating hidden and explicit costs of maintaining homegrown systems and Excel-based solutions. Capabilities of Azure Purview include: Automated data discovery. Sensitive data classification, with data labeled across SQL Server, Azure, Microsoft 365, and Power BI. End-to-end data lineage. Finding of valuable, trustworthy data by data consumers. Integration of data systems using Apache Atlas APIs. Semantic search and data discovery using business or technical terms. Creation of a map of data across hybrid sources, with metadata management provided. Extraction of metadata, lineage, and classifications from existing data stores. AI-based data classifiers help identify data exposures and out-of-compliance data by looking for personally identifiable information and sensitive data. In February, Azure Purview’s data discovery, classification, and mapping capabilities will be available for data managed by other storage providers. Azure Purview was announced concurrently with the general availability of Azure Synaptics Analytics, an analytics service leveraging data integration, data warehousing, and enterprise data analytics. Cloud ComputingTechnology IndustryMicrosoft Azure