Microsoft announced the sunset of Windows Information Protection (WIP)

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Key notes

  • It's time to say goodbye to the Windows Information Protection (WIP) service forever.
  • Microsoft has announced, through a recent blog post, that it will be completely retired.
  • Don't worry, the tech giant actually proposed Purview as an alternative to this software.
windows protection

Microsoft isn’t only putting out new stuff, it’s also retiring software at the same time, not at the same rate, fortunately.

And, in the latest episode of the Microsoft giveth, Microsoft taketh away series, we’re here to inform you that Windows Information Protection (WIP) is about to have the same fate.

We know, we’re throwing a lot in your direction, so let’s slow down and thoroughly analyze this situation together.

Windows Information Protection retired in favor of Purview

The Windows Information Protection (WIP) service, which was formerly known as enterprise data protection (EDP), is a product designed to prevent accidental information leakage at companies.

The tech giant has emphasized many times that WIP shouldn’t be used as the line of defense against malicious insiders.

In fact, the true purpose was to prevent accidental leakage through personal email accounts, public cloud storage, or social media platforms, without hampering the overall employee experience.

And, just as you could tell from the title, Microsoft has officially announced that it is discontinuing WIP in favor of Purview.

Many of you have expressed a need for a data protection solution that works across heterogeneous platforms, and that allows you to extend the same sensitive data protection controls on endpoints that you have for the various SaaS apps and services you rely upon every day.

In order to properly address these needs, Microsoft has built Microsoft Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP).

This software is deeply integrated with Microsoft Purview Information Protection to help your organization discover, classify, and protect sensitive information as it is used or shared.

Purview actually leverages state-of-the-art machine learning classifiers to protect against a number of undesirable enterprise scenarios including accidental data leakage, harassment, money laundering, and corporate sabotage.

Some users are not at all happy with Microsoft’s recent decision and have clearly expressed their disagreement in the above-mentioned post’s comments section.

OK, so you are removing an existing E3 functionality (Windows Information Protection) in favour of functionality only available in E5 (Endpoint DLP + Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps). This sucks, WIP was a decent alternative to the E5 solutions.

No new features will be added to WIP and it will be removed from future versions of Windows as well, just in case you were wondering.

However, you’ll still have access to it on supported versions of Windows. Microsoft encourages enterprise customers to explore Purview Information Protection and DLP and consider migrating to it.

If you feel the need for it, you can also receive more guidance on this matter in the disclaimer on the dedicated WIP webpage.

What are your feelings about this entire situation? Be sure to share them with us in the comments section below.

More about the topics: Windows 11 Software & Apps