Why Microsoft Purview projects fail before they even begin - and how to stop that from happening
- welka2111
- Apr 9
- 3 min read
Introduction
Let’s be honest - Microsoft Purview isn’t just another tool you switch on and walk away from. It’s a full-on transformation. You’re messing with how data is labelled, accessed, protected, monitored - and that has ripple effects across your entire organisation.
But here's the kicker: the technical side isn’t the hard part. It’s the non-technical prerequisites that make or break a Purview rollout. And too often, these are overlooked until it's too late.
So, if you're a CISO, decision maker, manager, or IT professional looking to roll out Purview properly - read this before you start clicking around in the compliance portal.
Table of contents
How to make Microsoft Purview implementation a successful project?
Let’s break it down into four crucial bits that you absolutely need to get right.
1. Management buy-In: the dealbreaker
This is the hill your project will either die on or stand tall from. You need buy-in from the top.
And I don’t mean a nod in a steering committee. I mean genuine, informed support from influential people across the business. Because the moment someone high-up has a frustrating experience - say they can’t open an encrypted email due to a misconfigured (or what I like to call it 'mispurviewed') sensitivity label - that’s it. The whole project gets labelled as "too complicated" or “not fit for purpose”.
So, what’s the fix? You’ve got to sell the ‘why’. Make the risks real. Show them how data is leaking (or could be). Demonstrate how classification and labelling tie directly to governance, compliance, and reputation. Show how not doing it is riskier than pushing through the pain of change.
2. It’s a team effort (not an IT pet project)
Once you’ve got leadership on board, it’s time to bring in the troops - and I don’t mean just the security team.
Every department has different needs. HR might want to secure employee records, Legal wants audit trails, Finance needs to keep trade secrets safe. If you try to roll out Purview without engaging these people, you’re flying blind.
Spend time collecting use cases, understanding pain points, and building up your requirements catalogue. These folks are going to be your beta testers, feedback loop, and champions across the business. Treat them like co-pilots.
3. Security vs usability: the eternal tug of war
This one’s easy to mess up. You're trying to protect sensitive data - so you crank up the security settings. Great. But now nobody can open half their files, and project teams are bypassing security just to hit deadlines.
Purview is there to empower, not frustrate. So think very carefully about how you design your labels, DLP policies, auto-labelling rules and access controls. Your goal? Balance.
Talk to people. Test with real scenarios. Monitor the feedback. Iterate.
Security that's too strict will get ignored. Security that’s too loose won’t protect anything.
4. Training, awareness, and actually talking to people
Here’s the bit that gets overlooked the most.
You can’t just train your IT admins and call it a day. Purview changes how end users interact with data. It changes how they send emails, write documents, share files. It changes their habits.
If people don’t understand what a classification means, they’ll either ignore it or misuse it. Worse - they’ll lose trust in the system.
So plan for a proper user awareness campaign. Build clear label descriptions. Define your policies. Create cheat sheets. Run workshops. Make it real. People need to know:
Why you’re doing this
Which labels to use, and when
What happens if they get it wrong
What to expect when access is denied
Clarity leads to confidence. Confidence leads to adoption.
Final thoughts
Microsoft Purview is powerful - no doubt about it. But without the groundwork in place, it can quickly become shelfware or worse - a blocker that alienates your best people.
Get the buy-in. Build the team. Respect the balance. Train your users.
Do that, and you’ve got a real shot at building a data governance model that not only works - but lasts.
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