Sharing because the framing is useful for anyone trying to understand where Purview ends and third-party tooling begins.

Gartner published 'How to Build a Data Security Program Using Microsoft Purview' (G00856387, September 3, 2026), written for cybersecurity leaders. It covers license evaluation, sensitivity labeling strategy, DLP deployment approaches, and when to supplement Purview with third parties.

The key stat that jumped out: 80% of orgs have E5 or equivalent, but 47% say they are not getting full value from their M365 investment. The report attributes this largely to licensing complexity and governance gaps.

Gartner's central recommendation: treat Purview as a foundation, not an end state. Start with native Microsoft controls. Fill gaps with third-party tools where needed.

They name four vendors in the third-party augmentation section: AvePoint, Syskit, Powell and Rencore, specifically for rapid risk mitigation and enhanced audit capabilities.

What I found interesting is the framing: these tools augment Purview, they do not replace it. The report is explicit that the best approach is layered.

For those managing M365 security programs: the section on evaluating DLP approaches (Enterprise DLP vs Integrated DLP) is particularly useful.

Full disclosure: I work at Rencore, one of the named vendors. Posting for the Gartner framing and stats, which are useful regardless of tool choice.