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IBM Data Governance vs Microsoft Purview Information Protection comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

IBM Data Governance
Ranking in Data Governance
21st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
1
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Purview Informati...
Ranking in Data Governance
4th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
Data Privacy Management Software (2nd), Microsoft Security Suite (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of May 2025, in the Data Governance category, the mindshare of IBM Data Governance is 1.3%, up from 1.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is 2.5%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Data Governance
 

Featured Reviews

Murali B - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides a single interface to monitor and navigate data quality metrics
One area with room for improvement would be the ability to generate detailed quality reports. Some Python libraries provide quality scores and reports—having that capability within IBM Data Governance would be beneficial. We can see the pass/fail results, but getting additional percentage ratios would add significant value. My experience with IBM Data Governance has mostly been with the GUI. I've noticed some latency when accessing the portal. Also, automating reports can sometimes hang, though that might depend on the overall system. That's where I see the most room for improvement – quicker report generation. Fetching specific data from the IBM Data Governance repository tends to be slower compared to other vendors. For example, Collibra has a more responsive GUI. Retrieving large datasets from the IBM catalog is particularly slow.
Heidi Hasting - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data, but the changing product names are confusing
One of the key features of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is the auto-classification functionalities, although I have found them to be less effective in complex scenarios. The policy toggle, demanding justification for downgrading labels, provides an essential audit trail that helps prevent accidental exposure of sensitive data. The security tools integrate well. I like that you can scan several data or informational assets, such as your SharePoint list, Teams, etc., and bring them into Purview as a central repository. Partnering with other products, like Sentinel, for logging capability and inventory provides a service across the board. It's essential that Purview automatically prevents highly sensitive corporate secrets and data from being ingested into generative AI models, but the reality is that AI is a tool. It's problematic if consumers rely on a tool to protect them because they must be educated first. Regardless of the education, the employee might share the information anyway, so the AI shouldn't be the first point of failure. It should be a human making good decisions.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"IBM Data Governance improved data analytics operations. During a company merger, we used IBM Data Governance to understand and bridge sample data between systems."
"We can restrict access or specify who can see sensitivity labels, which can be based on the classification level. We can encrypt restricted content and limit who can see that from an internal view, too, so Purview is a powerful tool."
"Microsoft Purview Information Protection supports data classification, sensitivity labels, and data loss prevention."
"Purview is about auditing and discoverability. We need to ensure people aren't releasing information that they shouldn't and that they're doing multi-factor authentication or accessing it from the correct devices. It aids in reducing silos within organizations, enabling staff to easily find documents and contacts without exhausting human resources."
"The features my clients request most are sensitivity labels and data loss prevention. Additionally, I am trying to interest them in risk management and insider risk management, although those features are considered more advanced."
"The most valuable feature of Microsoft Purview Information Protection is its ability to respond to sensitive data shared on Teams chat by deleting the message, not just monitoring or logging."
"It ensures that sensitive data is automatically safeguarded, even for email attachments, regardless of the user or device."
"Before using it, we had a lot of unlabeled data, and the tool helped us quickly and accurately label a large number of documents."
"I created training materials for end users on applying different labels, explaining their purposes, and providing examples. This was crucial since end users would apply the labels in different protection scenarios. The implementation helped the organization in several ways."
 

Cons

"One area with room for improvement would be the ability to generate detailed quality reports. Some Python libraries provide quality scores and reports—having that capability within IBM Data Governance would be beneficial."
"There is potential for more integration in the use of AI."
"Microsoft Purview Information Protection can improve in terms of scan concurrency and scan processing time."
"There is room for improvement with the policy tips feature."
"I would evaluate Microsoft's customer support for Microsoft Purview Information Protection as not satisfactory. I'm not happy with Microsoft's customer support."
"During the initial setup, I found the lack of policy segregation at the sub-site level for DLP policies to be a challenge."
"The communication around Microsoft product names and functionalities can be confusing, like when they combined Office 365 Risk and Compliance with Azure Purview. Then, they added Purview Hub to Fabric, and people thought Purview Hub would do data lineages, but it didn't. It isn't full-fledged Purview. It's just one feature set."
"There should be more training and communication regarding new features. I may be missing those communications, but it often seems like changes happen in the Purview portal without notice. Having a roadmap or updates about new releases would be helpful for demonstrating to clients. If things are constantly changing, I sometimes look silly when I log in, and things have moved or changed."
"I rate Microsoft support six out of 10. Response times are a challenge. It's hard to be an ambassador for a product when you know it will be hard to get support."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The product is affordable, and our clients agree. Sensitivity labels come with the MIP license at an additional $2 a month per user, an excellent deal for auto-labeling capabilities."
"The tool's pricing is fairly low, less than 100,000 for a year."
"Initially, Purview's cost seemed quite high because it was for personal use. I was scanning a tiny tenant and thinking, "If I extrapolate this to an enterprise-scale tenant, it will be quite costly." However, I talked to people who had compared it to other products on the market, and they're spending five figures to get started. At least, Purview has a free trial, so you can try some of the features early on."
"The price is determined by the enterprise licensing, either the E3 or E5 licensing or the EMS plus security and other feature licensing."
"The tool's pricing is not a problem for customers because they often purchase it as part of a bundle. With an E5 license, for example, users get access to the entire functionality. This is one of the main reasons why many customers are choosing Microsoft."
"The pricing and setup costs are transferred to my clients, who find it affordable and are satisfied with what they receive."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
9%
Insurance Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
19%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
7%
Retailer
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about IBM Data Governance?
IBM Data Governance improved data analytics operations. During a company merger, we used IBM Data Governance to understand and bridge sample data between systems.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for IBM Data Governance?
I would rate pricing an eight out of ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive. It's pretty expensive.
What needs improvement with IBM Data Governance?
One area with room for improvement would be the ability to generate detailed quality reports. Some Python libraries provide quality scores and reports—having that capability within IBM Data Governa...
What do you like most about Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
It ensures that sensitive data is automatically safeguarded, even for email attachments, regardless of the user or device.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The pricing is not very high and is considered fine. Microsoft offers different licensing options. AIP Plan 2 is used for critical users. The AIP is included in the business standard license for cl...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Information Protection?
The most difficult part in the labeling solution is the lack of direct PDF support on Macs, whereas on Windows, a Purview agent can label PDFs. This should be improved to support PDF protection on ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Microsoft Information Protection
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

TIAA CREF, Control Risks Group
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, Informatica, Collibra and others in Data Governance. Updated: May 2025.
851,604 professionals have used our research since 2012.