Alation Connector for Microsoft Purview File System OCF

The Microsoft Purview File System OCF Connector, developed by Logan Data, enables Alation users to automatically extract and catalog file system metadata from Microsoft Purview, bringing Collections, Folders, Files, and Schemas into Alation's unified data intelligence platform.

Microsoft Purview is a comprehensive set of data governance solutions that helps organisations govern, protect, and manage data wherever it lives, across on-premises systems, multi-cloud environments, and SaaS applications. Purview provides an automated data discovery engine, sensitive data classification, and end-to-end data lineage to create a holistic, up-to-date map of an organisation's entire data landscape. This OCF connector bridges that governance intelligence with Alation's catalog, enabling data curators, security administrators, data architects, and business users to find, understand, and trust file-based data assets from within Alation.

Built on Alation's Open Connector Framework (OCF) and delivered as a Zip file installable via Alation Connector Manager, this connector supports both Alation On-Premise and Alation Cloud Service deployments.

What gets extracted and how it maps into Alation:

• Collections mapped to Alation Folders: top-level organisational groupings in Purview, preserving the collection name and hierarchy
• Purview Folders mapped to Alation Folders: file system directories with owner, size, group, and last modified date
• Purview Files mapped to Alation Files: individual file assets with owner, size, group, and last modified date, giving users complete asset-level visibility
• Schemas mapped to Alation Columns: file schema definitions extracted with column name, data type, and nullability for structured file formats

Data governance and business outcomes:

• Faster decision-making: near real-time synchronisation between Microsoft Purview and Alation ensures users are always working with the most relevant and current file metadata
• Unified governance: by bringing Purview's multi-cloud file catalog into Alation, organisations gain a single governed view across on-premises file stores, Azure Data Lake, and SaaS file sources without duplicating governance tooling
• Data consumer empowerment: Data Analysts, Data Scientists, Data Architects, and Business Users can search, find, and curate file assets directly from Alation without needing direct access to the Purview portal

Authentication and security:

• Azure AD authentication via Microsoft Purview REST APIs
• SSL/TLS enforced by default, Purview listens exclusively on HTTPS connections
• Role-based access control on Purview Collections managed through Microsoft REST APIs, ensuring connector permissions align with your organisation's Purview security model

Extraction capabilities:

• Selective extraction: apply Collection-level filters to include or exclude specific areas of the Purview data estate, keeping catalog updates focused and performant
• Schema extraction: extract structured schema information from Purview file sources for column-level catalog visibility
• Full extraction: catalog the entire Purview File System instance in a single run
• Service readiness documentation included for environment setup and configuration

Compatibility: Alation On-Premise and Alation Cloud Service. Azure AD with Microsoft Purview REST API access required.