Information management in 2026: invisible until things go wrong

Information is growing faster than organizations can keep up. Documents, emails and chats are spreading across Microsoft 365, OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint. As long as all goes well, information management remains invisible. Until things go wrong.

A data breach. An AVG question from the regulator. Or an audit where no one can explain who has access to sensitive information. In 2026, information management is no longer an IT detail, but a prerequisite for continuity and trust.

Collecting data is easy. Keeping a grip is not.

Migrating to Microsoft 365 for SMB organizations

Why information management is stuck now

Many organizations have their security in place technically. MFA is active. Backups are running. Yet risks arise at another level: context and governance.

Common situations we see with clients:
Confidential documents unlabeled in OneDrive or Teams.
HR files accessed more widely than necessary.
Project data left unattended after completion.
No current overview of who has access to what information and why.

These are not incidents caused by malicious people, but by lack of understanding. Without clear data governance, you don’t know what you have, where it is and who is using it.

Compliance pressure increases

The AVG sets clear requirements for data minimization, access management and accountability. For sectors such as healthcare and government, standards such as NEN7510 and BIO are added.

In practice, this means being able to demonstrate:

What personal data you process.
Where this data resides.
Who has access and based on what policy.
How to protect sensitive information throughout the life cycle.

Manual checks and loose Excel statements no longer suffice. Certainly not in a Microsoft 365 environment where data is constantly moving.

Microsoft Purview as a foundation for grip

Microsoft Purview helps organizations set up information management structurally, without adding additional complexity.

Purview maps data no matter where it resides. In Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive or Teams. You gain insight into sensitive information, such as personal or financial data, based on content and context.

In addition, Purview makes visible who has access to information and why. This helps with audits, but especially with day-to-day decisions about access and policy.

Key benefits in practice:

Automatic classification and labeling of data.
Understanding data flows and storage locations.
Support for AVG and NEN7510 requirements.
Policies directly linked to technology, not manual labor.

The result is no extra layer of control, but peace of mind and overview.

From control to better decision-making

Good information management is not about mistrust or roadblocks. It’s about better choices. Employees know what they can and cannot share. IT knows where risks are. Management can demonstrate that compliance is structurally in place.

Information becomes an asset rather than a risk.

At ALTA-ICT, we see that organizations that properly deploy Purview make faster decisions, have fewer incidents and face audits with confidence. Not because everything is closed, but because everything is set up logically.

The role of ALTA-ICT

Microsoft Purview is powerful, but not a button you just turn on. It requires choices that fit your organization, industry and risk profile.

ALTA-ICT helps with:

Mapping information flows.
Creating practical and workable policies.
Setting up Purview within Microsoft 365.
Alignment with AVG, NEN7510 and Dutch practice.

Always with a focus on simplicity, adoption and measurable results.

In conclusion

Information management remains invisible as long as things are going well. In 2026, that is no longer a strategy. Grip on unstructured information is needed to manage risk and maintain trust.

The question is not whether you manage data. The question is whether you know how.

If you would like to spar about how your organization can get a grip on information within Microsoft 365, we would be happy to think along with you.