Using Purview as the Foundation for Secure AI
Ascent helped a leading national restaurant chain gain visibility and control over sensitive data through a fast, focused Microsoft Purview Rapid Adoption. The engagement delivered immediate insight into data risk, validated governance controls, and established a scalable foundation for secure AI innovation.
Results at a Glance:
The Challenge
Data Visibility and Control
Our client, a leading national restaurant chain, was accelerating its AI and data modernization initiatives, but as the pace of modernization accelerated, one critical issue surfaced: data visibility and control.
The company's data was distributed across multiple systems, cloud environments, and business units. Sensitive information, ranging from customer details to internal operational data, was often unlabeled, unclassified, and inconsistently protected. This made it difficult for the organization to know where its most critical data lived, who had access to it, or whether it was being shared appropriately.
Without that visibility, they faced the same challenge confronting many enterprises today: how to innovate with AI while maintaining compliance, reducing risk, and protecting brand reputation.
Leadership recognized that to move forward confidently with AI and advanced analytics, they needed a secure, scalable data governance framework, one that could unify visibility, enforce consistent protection, and align with Microsoft's security and compliance ecosystem.
The Solution
Ascent's Microsoft Purview Rapid Adoption Offer
By partnering with Ascent Solutions, the client was able to fast-track the implementation of Microsoft Purview, and deliver measurable value in weeks, while laying the foundation for sustainable, organization-wide data governance.
Key Focus Areas
Ascent's Microsoft-focused team collaborated closely with the client's IT and security leadership to design and execute a four-week Purview Rapid Adoption tailored to the company's unique environment.
The engagement included:
- Rapid implementation of Purview controls across prioritized systems and data repositories.
- Validation of Information Protection and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) configurations, ensuring policies aligned with the client's business and compliance requirements.
- Data classification mapping to identify sensitive information across structured and unstructured data sources.
- Framework development to operationalize Purview and enable the client to scale controls across departments and workloads.
Within weeks, they gained unprecedented visibility into its data landscape, revealing exactly where sensitive information existed, how it was being used, and where controls were missing or misconfigured.
The Impact
Immediate Insight into Critical DLP Gaps
The pilot deployment of Microsoft Purview uncovered several critical gaps in data labeling, classification, and protection. Many files, especially those containing sensitive or regulated data, were being shared or stored without appropriate security controls. With Ascent's guidance, the client was able to:
Key Outcomes
- Prioritize remediation: Focus compliance efforts based on the most significant risks.
- Reduce exposure: Minimize risk across high-value and high-sensitivity data types.
- Develop new policies: Create labeling and DLP policies tailored to business operations and regulatory needs.
- Build executive confidence: Translate technical outcomes into measurable risk reduction for the company's modernization strategy.
The engagement not only delivered immediate technical benefits but also helped leadership understand the true state of their data security posture, turning previously invisible risks into actionable insights.
The Future
Scaling for Secure AI and Operational Maturity
Armed with real data, proven configurations, and a validated governance framework, the client is now positioned to scale Microsoft Purview enterprise-wide. The Rapid Adoption engagement served as a blueprint for building a trusted data foundation that supports both operational excellence and AI readiness.
With a secure governance framework in place, the client can now confidently integrate AI tools, automation, and analytics knowing that sensitive data is identified, protected, and governed consistently across the organization.
This success has deepened Ascent's partnership with the client, who invited Ascent to participate in its annual budget planning process, helping guide the roadmap for full Microsoft Purview deployment and long-term data governance strategy.
A Model for Secure, Scalable AI Adoption
This success story reflects a broader truth across industries: AI success depends on data trust. Without visibility, labeling, and protection, even the most advanced AI initiatives are built on shaky ground. By using Ascent's Rapid Adoption approach, the client achieved in weeks what many organizations take months, or even years, to accomplish:
- A clear understanding of data risk
- A validated governance framework
- Executive alignment on the path forward
- A secure foundation for innovation
Why Choose Ascent
Ascent's expertise in operationalizing Microsoft Purview made this transformation possible, helping this leading national restaurant chain transform its security posture while preparing the business for a new era of responsible, AI-driven growth.
Together, we are demonstrating how the right mix of technology, expertise, and execution can turn data governance from a compliance necessity into a strategic enabler of innovation.
Ready to build your own data foundation? Explore Ascent's Microsoft Purview Rapid Adoption and start building a secure foundation for AI today.
