Designing a Microsoft Purview DLP Strategy That Actually Works

The Problem with One-Size-Fits-All DLP

Most organisations deploy DLP policies based on Microsoft templates or generic best-practice guides. Whilst these are a useful starting point, they rarely account for sector-specific data types, regulatory requirements or the way real users interact with sensitive content across Exchange, SharePoint, Teams and endpoints.

A healthcare organisation handling patient records has fundamentally different DLP needs than a manufacturer protecting trade secrets. A financial services firm under FCA oversight requires different sensitive information types, policy conditions and user notification workflows than an education institution subject to FERPA.

A Sector-Specific Approach to DLP Design

Effective DLP strategy design follows a structured process:

1. Identify your sensitive data landscape. What types of data flow through each workload and which regulatory frameworks apply?
2. Map workload-specific risks. Consider email external sharing in Exchange, guest access in Teams and sync to unmanaged devices via OneDrive.
3. Define policy conditions and exceptions. False positives are the number one reason users bypass DLP. Conditions must be precise.
4. Align with sensitivity labels. DLP policies should enforce your labelling taxonomy, not duplicate it.
5. Prioritise by risk. Deploy high-impact policies first in audit mode before enforcement.

How PurLayer Accelerates DLP Design

PurLayer is a Microsoft Purview strategy simulator that generates DLP strategies tailored to your specific sector and objective. When you select a sector like Healthcare and an objective like Prevent Data Leakage, PurLayer produces a complete DLP blueprint covering:

• Sensitive information types relevant to your sector (NHS numbers, patient IDs and financial records)
• Workload-specific DLP policy configurations for Exchange, SharePoint, Teams, OneDrive and Endpoint
• Compliance framework mappings showing how each policy supports HIPAA, GDPR or PCI-DSS requirements
• AI-powered risk scoring to prioritise which policies to deploy first
• Implementation resources with direct links to Microsoft Learn documentation

Instead of spending days researching documentation and building spreadsheets, you get a structured, audit-ready DLP strategy in minutes, all without needing tenant access.

From Simulation to Implementation

The goal of DLP simulation is not to replace implementation but to make it faster and more accurate. Export your PurLayer strategy as a PDF, share it with stakeholders for sign-off and use the implementation guides to configure each policy in your Purview tenant with confidence.