Today we're sharing an important update about the Microsoft Data Governance strategy.
AI is changing what organizations expect from their data. Across the industry, leading data platforms are building governance directly into the data platform instead of treating it as a separate, disconnected tool. Our customers have told us the same thing repeatedly. They want governance where their data is analyzed and put to work.
The next chapter of our data governance strategy is built natively into Microsoft Fabric. The OneLake catalog is now the single foundation for governing data across your entire estate. When governance is built into the platform, policies, trust signals, lineage, and stewardship stay close to the data and to the people and AI agents who use it.
Data governance is a core Microsoft priority. What's changing is not our commitment to governance, it's where that governance lives. And it lives within Microsoft Fabric.
Why we're making this change
Governance works best when it isn't a separate stop. When the catalog sits apart from the data platform, every policy, label and lineage update must bridge two systems, and customers have been clear that this slows them down. At the same time, AI success increasingly depends on a well-governed, lake-first data foundation, an area where Microsoft has momentum and a long-term commitment.
OneLake is increasingly where that work happens. With shortcuts and mirroring multi-cloud and on-premises sources, many organizations now bring their data together in OneLake. Governing it there keeps policies, lineage, and stewardship close to the data and to the people and agents who use it. Most of our data governance customers already use Fabric, so governance moves to a platform many of them know, and it's included in Fabric capacity rather than billed through separate meters.
This becomes more important as organizations adopt AI. Agents need to know what data means, who can use it, and whether it can be trusted. Because the OneLake catalog sits alongside the data that agents use, the same permissions, sensitivity labels, endorsements, and lineage that govern your data also govern how AI uses it.
What the OneLake catalog offers today
The OneLake Catalog includes a substantial set of governance capabilities across discovery, governance, and security and protection. It also governs data that doesn't live in OneLake. Through shortcuts, mirroring, and supported connectors, the OneLake catalog can govern data across Fabric, Azure, and third party sources without copying or moving it. This supports a federated governance model while keeping controls close to where data is analyzed and consumed. The OneLake catalog is also embedded in the applications people already use like Teams, Excel, and Foundry, making data accessible to all business users.
Fabric is the foundation for governance at Microsoft; however, we acknowledge that some organizations have needs that reach beyond what's in Fabric today. Fabric also integrates with other 3rd party providers such as Atlan, Alation, Collibra and Informatica so customers can decide what works best for their data governance requirements.
What to do next
Microsoft is drawing a clearer line between protecting data and governing it. Microsoft Purview stays focused on data security and compliance: classifying, labeling and protecting sensitive data, preventing data loss across your estate and AI, and staying ahead of the shifting compliance landscape. With data security as the #1 priority for the majority of organizations adopting AI, we look forward to continuing to invest in its capabilities that integrate with Microsoft 365, Azure, and Fabric exactly as they do today.
To bring governance closer to your data, Microsoft Fabric is now our data governance solution, and Purview Data Governance will be retired a year from now. Starting today, we are supporting Purview data governance customers to transition to Microsoft Fabric. Support for Purview Data Governance will end Nov. 12, 2027.
Customers with contractual obligations and in highly regulated industries should engage with their Microsoft account team early. These scenarios need to be assessed individually, and we will work through them with you directly. Detailed transition guidance is available as of today, and your Microsoft account team can help with questions specific to your environment.
We believe governance embedded in the platform where your data lives, rather than maintained alongside it, is the right foundation for what organizations are trying to do with their data and with AI. Microsoft is committed to helping you get there.
Where to learn more
Microsoft