Microsoft 365 already provides extensive native encryption capabilities. Service Encryption protects data across various Microsoft 365 services, while organizations can choose between Microsoft-managed keys and Customer Key.
eperi sEcure takes a different approach: The solution protects sensitive data before it is transmitted to the Microsoft Cloud and supports Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, Teams, as well as Planner and To Do.
The key question is therefore:
Is native Microsoft 365 encryption sufficient to achieve the desired level of data sovereignty, or should protection begin before the cloud?
Microsoft Purview vs. eperi sEcure
| Criterion | eperi sEcure | Microsoft Purview |
| Native Microsoft solution | No | Yes |
| Pre-Cloud Encryption | Yes | No |
| Customer control over root keys | Yes | Yes with Customer Key |
| Platform-independent | Yes | Microsoft-centric |
| Multi-SaaS | Yes | Microsoft-centric |
| Microsoft 365 | Yes | Yes |
| Selective protection | Yes | Depending on the service |
| Functionality preservation | Core positioning | Service-/feature-dependent |
How Does Microsoft 365 Service Encryption Work?
Microsoft 365 uses Service Encryption in addition to volume-level encryption.
Microsoft distinguishes between:
- Microsoft-managed keys
- Customer Key
Customer Key enables customers to provide root keys and manage them through Azure Key Vault. At the same time, Microsoft manages additional keys within the Service Encryption architecture.
What Is Microsoft Customer Key?
Customer Key is particularly relevant for organizations that require additional control over their encryption keys.
Microsoft describes Customer Key as an additional encryption layer for data at rest in Microsoft data centers. Customers control the root keys, while Microsoft manages additional keys.
One important point for decision-makers:
Customer Key does not automatically protect all data throughout the entire path from the user application to the cloud.
The architecture is primarily designed for data at rest within Microsoft 365 services.
What Makes eperi sEcure Different?
eperi positions sEcure as a client-side or Pre-Cloud Encryption solution.
For Microsoft 365, eperi supports, among others:
- Exchange
- SharePoint
- OneDrive
- Teams
- Planner
- To Do
The eperi architecture starts before the cloud:
eperi sEcure is designed to ensure that Microsoft 365 processes only protected content while organizations retain control over the entire encryption process.
Microsoft Purview and eperi sEcure – Competitors or Complementary Solutions?
This is an important strategic question.
Microsoft Purview covers much more than encryption:
- Information Protection
- Data Loss Prevention
- Compliance
- Classification
- Insider Risk
- Records Management
eperi sEcure, by contrast, focuses on protecting sensitive data through encryption, tokenization, and pseudonymization.
Therefore, depending on the architecture, both technologies can also be used complementarily.
Which Solution Fits Which Requirement?
Microsoft Purview
Particularly suitable when:
- Microsoft 365 is the central ecosystem,
- native compliance capabilities are important,
- Customer Key is sufficient,
- Microsoft-native governance is desired,
- potential access by Microsoft to plaintext data is accepted.
eperi sEcure
Particularly relevant when:
- data should be protected before entering the cloud,
- Microsoft 365 is combined with other SaaS platforms,
- an independent security layer is desired,
- sensitive data should not be stored in the cloud in plaintext,
- preserving functionality is important.
Conclusion
Microsoft 365 already provides extensive encryption and key management capabilities with Service Encryption and Customer Key for protecting sensitive data in the cloud.
eperi sEcure follows a different architecture: Encryption is moved to before the cloud, allowing it to serve as an independent data security layer across different applications.
The relevant decision-making question is therefore:
Does the organization need Microsoft-native encryption, or should the protection of sensitive data be enforced independently of Microsoft before it reaches the cloud?
Want to use the cloud without giving up control over your data?
Learn how eperi sEcure protects sensitive data in SaaS and cloud applications.
Newsletter
Sign up for our newsletter and receive regular updates on data protection topics, changes in legislation and the further development of eperi® sEcure.
