As Oakland is ‘everything data’ we are always working on the latest and best ways we can help our clients deliver value, with data governance tooling such a huge part of enterprise organisations data governance journey, we jumped at the chance to host a workshop with our Microsoft partners focused on our Microsoft Purview consulting services – Purview is a new, innovative toolset for governing, protecting, and managing organisational data. Just last month, we explored Microsoft Purview in depth on our blog here which drew significant interest from our clients.
As a Microsoft Partner, Oakland’s Microsoft Purview consulting services give us access to the latest insights and best practices, providing our clients with unique support. We believe in the value of connecting data leaders with Microsoft experts to tackle pressing data challenges.
The workshop was a full house, largely due to Purview’s newest features and its updated billing model. One standout update is the ability to scan data sources without incurring additional costs. With Purview, billing now happens per unique governed data asset, which means that assets linked to multiple products are only charged once, and asset counts are taken daily—a change many have been eager to see.
Why Data Governance Tooling Matters
At Oakland, we know that data governance tooling can accelerate a data governance implementation. However, technology alone isn’t the answer. Our Microsoft Purview consulting services start with a strong foundation of people and processes. Before implementing any tool, it’s essential to establish a solid data ownership model and steering committees that ensure robust processes are in place, such as data quality management and improvement. With the right structure, tools like Purview can then help prioritise and streamline data governance.
Our data governance tooling guide also assists organisations in choosing the right solution by focusing on their most critical needs. No single tool is perfect for every data governance task, so understanding the organisation’s unique challenges allows for smarter decision-making when selecting a data governance solution.
Key Insights from Microsoft’s Team
Thanks to Microsoft’s Michael Robson and Mark Farrow-Smith, attendees received an in-depth keynote on Microsoft’s data governance journey. They emphasised that data governance is 92% people and process, and only 8% technology.
Michael presented three critical pillars for effective governance:
- Data Discovery: Gaining a thorough understanding of the organisation’s data landscape, shared across functions, to avoid data silos.
- Data Literacy: Building an organisation-wide understanding of data, creating a data-centric culture.
- Data Quality: Ensuring that data entering systems is accurate, as this is essential for trustworthy business insights.
These pillars, combined with executive sponsorship, provide a solid foundation for a successful governance strategy. Michael also shared six lessons learned from Microsoft’s governance journey, from prioritising critical data domains to the importance of measuring governance metrics for continued executive buy-in.
Oakland’s Hands-On Demo of Microsoft Purview
After the keynote, Oakland’s data consultants, Alex Coulthard, Amy Farnfield, and Rehan Hussain, led an interactive demo showcasing Microsoft Purview’s capabilities. The demo began with Purview’s data scanning feature, highlighting how this capability accelerates data discovery by automating a process that might otherwise take weeks.
Our team also explored the Business Glossary, OKRs, and Critical Data Elements (CDE) features, discussing the advantages of Purview’s user-friendly glossary and explaining the enhancements we’ve built to streamline these processes. For example, Oakland has created a pipeline to bulk upload glossary terms, addressing Purview’s current lack of this capability.
The demo further showcased the roles and responsibilities supported by Purview, which allow for extensive customisation across different data ownership structures, making it adaptable to various organisational needs. Lastly, our consultants reviewed Purview’s handling of data products and assets, illustrating how documentation, such as data contracts, can be integrated within the tool.
Oakland’s team finished the session by discussing the role of data quality in data governance—a critical area for most organisations. Purview’s capabilities, combined with Oakland’s expertise in Microsoft Purview consulting services, offer a robust framework to help organisations accelerate their data governance journeys.
If you’d like to learn more about our Microsoft Purview consulting services, reach out to us, and let’s discuss how we can support your data governance strategy.
