This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Microsoft Security Blog.
In today’s digital-first world, data is both an asset and a liability. As organizations scale their use of cloud platforms, AI, and remote collaboration tools, the complexity of managing data security, data privacy, and regulatory compliance grows exponentially. For organizations, the challenge is no longer just about preventing data breaches—it’s about enabling secure, compliant, and intelligent data use across the enterprise.
A recent Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) of Microsoft Purview study by Forrester Consulting, commissioned by Microsoft, offers valuable insights into how organizations are modernizing their data protection strategies.1 The study covers the tangible benefits of unifying data security, data governance, and data compliance under a single platform—an approach exemplified by Microsoft Purview.
Why data security is a strategic imperative
In an era where data is the lifeblood of digital operations, the importance of securing that data cannot be overstated. Organizations are increasingly reliant on data to drive decision-making, customer engagement, and innovation. However, this reliance also makes them prime targets for cyberattacks, insider threats, and accidental data leaks. The complexity of hybrid and multi-cloud environments further complicates visibility and control, making a unified data security strategy essential.
Moreover, regulatory bodies around the world are tightening data protection laws, such as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). Non-compliance can result in hefty fines and reputational damage. For organizations, this means that data security is not just a technical requirement but a business-critical function that supports organizational resilience and trust.
The composite organization in the study faces a 70% annual likelihood of experiencing a data breach, with potential costs exceeding $3.3 million. Yet many enterprises still operate with fragmented tools, manual processes, and limited visibility into where sensitive data resides or how it’s accessed. This lack of visibility increases the risk of insider threats, non-compliance, and operational inefficiencies.
For organizations, this means more time spent reacting to incidents, less time proactively managing risk, and slower access to trusted data, hindering digital transformation.
Key areas of impact
These areas of impact are not isolated; they are interconnected and reinforce one another. For example, improved data classification enhances both breach prevention and compliance automation. Similarly, streamlined investigations reduce the time to respond to incidents, which in turn minimizes potential damage and supports regulatory reporting requirements.
1. Data breach prevention and risk reduction
The 2025 Forrester TEI study of Purview found that organizations achieved a 30% reduction in the likelihood of data breaches by implementing fine-tuned data loss prevention (DLP) policies and gaining visibility into sensitive data across clouds, devices, and applications. This translated into more than $225,000 in annual savings from avoided security incidents and regulatory fines.
Purview helps us determine our data loss prevention (DLP) rules. Now we get alerts to any possible threats to data loss for our privileged information.
—Interviewee, Global Risk and Compliance Director, Food Processing Organization
2. Streamlined security investigations
Security teams reduced investigation time by 75%, freeing up resources to focus on higher-value tasks. With centralized audit logs, automated alerts, and machine learning-informed policies, teams could detect and respond to cyberthreats faster and more effectively.
With Purview, we get alerts for those types of activities so my team and I are notified and can investigate them further.
—Chief Commercial Officer, Financial Services
3. User productivity gains
Users saved 75% of the time previously spent searching for and classifying data. With automated data classification and centralized access, employees could find the data they needed without relying on manual tagging or risking non-compliance.
Compliance teams benefit from simplification of previously manual data classification, compliance, and audit tasks.
4. Compliance automation and audit readiness
Compliance teams reduced manual effort by 60%, thanks to tools that automated classification, retention, and audit workflows. This not only improved regulatory compliance but also elevated the role of compliance from a cost center to a strategic enabler of business agility.
Our records and information management team has gone from being stuck in the corner to now where we get invited to strategic planning meetings.
—Records and Information Management Lead, Government
5. Legacy cost avoidance
By consolidating data security and governance tools, organizations eliminated redundant systems and infrastructure, saving nearly $500,000 over three years. This simplification also reduced IT complexity and improved system interoperability.
Cultural and strategic benefits
Organizations interviewed in the study also reported a cultural shift where data security became a shared responsibility rather than a siloed function. This cultural evolution is critical in fostering a proactive security posture. Employees began to see themselves as stewards of data, leading to more mindful data handling practices and fewer accidental breaches.
Strategically, this shift enabled security and compliance teams to participate in broader business planning. Their insights into data usage and risk became valuable inputs for product development, customer engagement strategies, and operational improvements.
Beyond the numbers, organizations reported a shift in culture and strategy. Security and compliance teams became more integrated with business units. Users became more engaged in protecting data. And leadership gained confidence in their ability to support innovation without compromising security.
The role of unified information governance
Unified information governance simplifies the management of data across its lifecycle—from creation and storage to sharing and deletion. It ensures that policies are consistently applied, reducing the risk of human error and policy drift. This consistency is particularly important in large organizations with diverse teams and global operations.
By integrating governance with security and compliance, organizations can create a more agile data environment. This agility supports faster innovation cycles, as teams can access the data they need without compromising on security or compliance.
A key takeaway from the Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study is the importance of unified information governance. By consolidating data classification, access control, and compliance monitoring into a single platform, organizations can reduce risk, improve efficiency, and unlock new business value.
Solutions like Microsoft Purview exemplify this unified approach. While not the only option, it demonstrates how integrating data security, compliance, and governance into a single ecosystem can yield measurable business outcomes into a single ecosystem can yield measurable business outcomes.
Next steps for your organization
If you’re looking to modernize your data security and governance strategy, here are three actionable steps:
- Protect and govern your data estate: Conduct a thorough assessment of your current data landscape to identify and classify sensitive data across your organization.
- Safeguard your data for AI innovation: Protect sensitive data used in all applications by implementing encryption and rights management controls.
- Support compliance and regulatory requirements: Stay up to date with evolving regulatory requirements. Microsoft Purview Compliance Manager helps you to stay current with regulations and certifications, and reporting to auditors.
To learn more about Microsoft Security solutions, visit our website. Bookmark the Security blog to keep up with our expert coverage on security matters. Also, follow us on LinkedIn (Microsoft Security) and X (@MSFTSecurity) for the latest news and updates on cybersecurity.
*Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders. Results are for a composite organization based on interviewed customers.
1The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the return on investment (ROI), net present value (NPV), and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. Present value (PV) calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
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