The Data Revolution: Why Cleansing and Configuring with Microsoft Purview is Crucial Before the Rollout of Semantic Indexing

As organizations across the globe gear up for the next wave of data innovation, Microsoft is preparing to roll out Semantic Indexing—an AI-powered feature that promises to transform how we search, discover, and use data. This advancement is set to redefine enterprise search capabilities, enabling more accurate and context-aware data retrieval. However, as powerful as this technology is, its success hinges on the quality of the data it indexes.

Before this exciting new era arrives – because it will, ready or not, it’s vital to ensure your company data is clean, organized, secure, and well-governed. This is where data cleansing and configuring Microsoft Purview come into play. Let’s explore why these steps are not just important but essential.

What is Semantic Indexing?

Semantic Indexing is Microsoft’s next-generation AI-driven technology designed to enhance data search and discovery within enterprise environments. Unlike traditional keyword-based search, which relies on exact word matches, Semantic Indexing understands the context and meaning behind the words. This allows it to deliver more relevant and precise search results, even when users don’t use the exact terms present in the data.

For example, if a user searches for “quarterly revenue,” Semantic Indexing might return results related to financial reports, sales data, and performance summaries, even if those specific documents don’t contain the exact phrase “quarterly revenue.” The AI can interpret the intent behind the search and retrieve data that matches the context.

Microsoft will be curating user-context indexes and tenant-wide indexes all within your environment, using your individuals access permissions and completely separate from language processing like ChatGPT.

One critical aspect of Semantic Indexing is that it will be a default feature in Microsoft’s ecosystem—you cannot opt out or disable it. Over 2024-2025, all organizations will have semantic indexing enabled within their tenant. This makes it even more crucial to ensure that the data being indexed is accurate, clean, and well-governed, as all of your organization’s data will be automatically subject to this advanced indexing process.

The Hidden Costs of Dirty Data

First, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: dirty data. Every organization, no matter how sophisticated, deals with some level of data inaccuracy, inconsistency, or irrelevance. The term “dirty data” encompasses a wide range of issues—from duplicate records and missing values to outdated or incorrect information.

The indexing breaks barriers that were previously sufficient, such as a simple “archive” folder for old policies being the only place to mention a specific policy someone is searching for. Or hiding a library from users, but technically still having permissions to the content means it’ll be searchable by questions that user asks of copilot.

Dirty data doesn’t just clutter your systems; it erodes the very foundation of decision-making. Gartner estimates that poor data quality costs organizations an average of $12.9 million annually. When you add AI and advanced indexing tools into the mix, the stakes become even higher. If you feed inaccurate or irrelevant data into an AI model, the output can be misleading at best and damaging at worst.

Why Data Cleansing is Non-Negotiable

Data cleansing is the process of identifying and rectifying (or removing) inaccurate, incomplete, or irrelevant data from your databases. Think of it as a deep cleaning of your digital house before inviting an important guests—like Copilot and Semantic Indexing.

Here’s why it’s critical:

• Security: If your data isn’t properly ring-fenced or classified, there are risks that sensitive information will be accessible to staff.
• Improved Search Accuracy: Clean data ensures that Semantic Indexing returns relevant and precise results, which is crucial for tasks ranging from customer insights to regulatory compliance.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: Reliable data means better, data-driven decisions that can lead to improved business outcomes.
• Increased Efficiency: Clean data reduces the time spent on manual data correction and troubleshooting, allowing teams to focus on more strategic initiatives.

The Power of Microsoft Purview in Data Governance

Once your data is clean, the next step is configuring Microsoft Purview, Microsoft’s comprehensive data governance solution. Purview is designed to help organizations manage, discover, and protect data across their entire estate, including on-premises, multi-cloud, and SaaS environments. Copilot is specifically designed to respect and inherit the data governance policies within Purview.

Here’s how Purview can set you up for Copilot success:

• Data Cataloging: Purview’s data cataloging capabilities allow you to organize and classify data assets, making it easier for Semantic Indexing to do its job effectively.
• Data Lineage: By tracking data lineage, Purview helps you understand where data originates, how it’s transformed, and where it’s consumed. This transparency ensures that the data indexed is both relevant and trustworthy.
• Data Protection: Purview enables the application of sensitivity labels and compliance policies, ensuring that only the right data is indexed and accessed by the right people.
• Compliance and Risk Management: With built-in compliance features, Purview helps you adhere to regulatory requirements, reducing the risk of penalties and reputational damage.

Preparing for Semantic Indexing: A Strategic Imperative

As Microsoft powers forward to roll out Semantic Indexing globally, you cannot opt out, or disable it, now is the time to prepare your data landscape. Data cleansing and proper configuration of Microsoft Purview should be viewed as strategic imperatives—not just technical tasks or nice to haves. By taking these steps, you’re not only future-proofing your organization but also positioning it to fully leverage the benefits of AI-driven data management and search capabilities.

Immediate action:

What can you do now? Should you forbid your team from using search or Copilot until it’s clean? No. Microsoft are releasing ‘Restricted SharePoint Search‘ functionality which is designed for organizations particularly concerned about oversharing and expected to be in general availability in Spring 2024. It allows you to temporarily hide SharePoint sites, until you have implemented robust data security with Purview. It’s available for admins if you have Copilot for Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

You can also take the copilot readiness assessment to help list specific actions for your organization.

Conclusion

In the age of AI and advanced data technologies, the adage “garbage in, garbage out” has never been more relevant. Semantic Indexing behind Microsoft’s Copilot promises to revolutionize how we interact with data, but its success is contingent on the quality of the data it indexes. By prioritizing data cleansing and configuring Microsoft Purview, you’re laying the groundwork for a seamless and successful transition into this new era.

As we stand on the brink of this exciting development, the question isn’t whether your organization is ready for AI, Copilot and Semantic Indexing—it’s whether your data is. Take the time to clean, configure, and prepare today, and tomorrow’s opportunities will be yours to seize.