What's New in Microsoft Purview: Usage Monitoring (Preview)

Data governance isn’t just about policies and metadata. It has an operational and financial footprint. As organizations run data quality checks, enrichment jobs, and other governance actions, that compute is metered and billed.

Without visibility, governance teams can be surprised by consumption and costs, or struggle to demonstrate value to business owners.

Why Usage Monitoring (Preview) Matters Now

Usage Monitoring (Preview) is Microsoft’s response: a built-in admin view that ties who (governance domain / owners) uses what (governed assets) to how much data governance processing unit (DGPU) was consumed: the essential inputs for chargebacks, showbacks, and optimization.

Use it to answer: which domains consume the most governance compute? Which assets trigger frequent runs? Where can we batch or tune rules to cut spend?

What is Usage Monitoring?

‍Usage Monitoring (Preview) is part of the Data Governance Admin experience in the Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog. It surfaces:

• Counts and lists of governed assets (tables/files/reports etc.) managed in the Unified Catalog, 
• DGPU consumption broken down by governance domain and asset, and 
• The basic data you need to attribute consumption for chargeback or optimization scenarios.

It lives in the Purview portal under Settings → Unified Catalog → Usage monitoring (preview) for users in the Data Governance Administrator role.

Keep in mind: the feature is preview. UX and scope may evolve.

Governed Assets, Governance Domains, and DGPU

Before we dive into the playbook, here are the definitions you’ll need.

Governed Asset

An object that has been onboarded/curated in Unified Catalog (a table, file, dataset, report, etc.). Usage Monitoring reports consumption against these assets.

Governance Domain

A logical grouping or business domain (example: Sales, Finance, Analytics) used to organize assets, owners, and stewards. Usage Monitoring breaks consumption down by domain so you can attribute usage to responsible teams.

Data Governance Processing Unit (DGPU)

The billing unit for data governance compute. A DGPU represents an amount of managed service performance consumed for 60 minutes and is available in different performance SKUs (Basic / Standard / Advanced). Data quality and other governance actions consume DGPU meters (pay-as-you-go).

DGPU is the quantitative link between governance activity and money. Usage Monitoring reports DGPU consumption so you can compute cost-per-domain, cost-per-asset, or cost-per-scan.

How to Use Usage Monitoring to Build a Chargeback Model

This repeatable playbook converts Purview telemetry into a chargeback or showback report you can present to finance and business stakeholders.

Step 1: Baseline 30 days of telemetry

Enable Usage Monitoring in Unified Catalog and collect a full month of DGPU usage by governance domain and by asset.

Microsoft notes that costs appear in the subscription Cost Management dashboard (and admins can view the preview report). Use this first month to establish normal consumption patterns.

Deliverable: CSV or report with columns: date, governance_domain, asset_id/name, DGPU_consumed, job_type.

Step 2: Map DGPU to money (simple formula)

You’ll need the DGPU price or an internal price you set. The basic formula is:

Cost = DGPU_consumed × Price_per_DGPU

Microsoft publishes DGPU pricing and a pricing calculator on the Purview pricing pages. Use official pricing for absolute numbers or create an internal unit price for showback reports.

Deliverable: Domain-level cost table (domain → total DGPU → cost).

Step 3: Decide allocation method

Choose an allocation approach depending on your org:

• Direct per-domain: assign DGPU costs to the governance domain that consumed them (straightforward). 
• Per-asset cost center: if assets are shared, attribute cost based on asset owners or a weighted usage formula. 
• Hybrid: direct for domain-owned assets, weighted for shared assets. 

Document your method and keep it consistent for month-to-month comparisons.

Step 4: Produce the chargeback report & narrative

Create a short report (1–2 pages) showing:

• total DGPU and $ this month vs prior month,
• top 10 cost-driving assets,
• anomalies (e.g., a single asset that triggered many control jobs),
• recommended actions (batching, rule tuning, change job frequency).

Add visualizations (bar chart: cost by domain; table: top assets by DGPU). Link to Usage Monitoring screenshots and Cost Management exports for auditability.

Step 5: Operationalize the report

Schedule an automated export (if available) or run the extraction monthly. Share with domain owners and run a monthly governance-finance review to agree on next month’s actions.

Example (hypothetical) of How Numbers Look in Practice

Hypothetical month

• Sales domain: 120 DGPUs
• Finance domain: 40 DGPUs
• Analytics domain: 20 DGPUs

If Price_per_DGPU = $X, then:

• Sales cost = 120 × $X
• Finance cost = 40 × $X

The calculation is intentionally simple: the value is in the conversation it starts with domain owners about optimization and ROI.

Note: For exact pricing and to run your own calculations, use Microsoft’s Purview pricing and DGPU pages.

Optimization Levers and Cost-Control Best Practices

If your Usage Monitoring report identifies hotspots, consider these levers:

1. Tune control jobs and rule frequency. Some quality rules can run less frequently or run on sample partitions only when appropriate. This reduces DGPU time.
2. Batch jobs and windowing. Combine smaller runs into scheduled windows to reduce overhead and cold-start costs. 
3. Right-size performance SKU. Use the Basic/Standard/Advanced options where available. Not every job needs Advanced DGPU performance. See DGPU SKU docs.
4. Identify noisy assets. If a handful of assets trigger most runs, address data quality at source or change the monitoring scope. Usage Monitoring highlights top-consuming assets.
   For teams modernizing apps, consider a security‑by‑design approach with Microsoft Purview SDK to reduce downstream re‑runs and misclassifications that waste DGPU.
5. Use governance job scheduling to avoid duplicate runs. Confirm whether scans or enrichment jobs are overlapping (especially in the move from classic to new experiences). Microsoft notes shifts between classic and new meter behavior in migration docs. Investigate how your existing jobs map to new meters.
   Tighten oversharing and content sprawl using SharePoint Advanced Management to avoid redundant scans and lower governance compute

Preview Caveats and Common Pitfalls to Watch For

The feature is in preview, so expect changes and assume some limitations:

• Evolving UX & semantics: Microsoft explicitly labels the admin experience and Usage Monitoring as preview; semantics and reporting behaviors may evolve. Validate metrics against Cost Management in Azure for reconciliation.
• Understand what triggers DGPU meters: Not every action consumes DGPU; DGPU meters are initiated by data quality and data management actions. Map your jobs to meter triggers to avoid incorrect attributions.
  Pair Usage Monitoring’s DGPU telemetry with Purview DSPM for AI reports to attribute both cost and risk, then prioritize fixes with the highest ROI.
• Governed asset vs classic catalog differences: If you migrated from the classic catalog, some meters were zeroed out in the transition — check the billing FAQ for details on what changed.
• Community experience: Practitioners report that Purview’s new consumption model includes both per-governed-asset charges and compute charges — understand both parts of the bill. Use community feedback as anecdotal signals, not definitive guidance.

Use Case: Turning Monitoring into Governance ROI

You can use Usage Monitoring to demonstrate ROI from governance efforts. Example pathway:

1. Baseline data quality incidents + DGPU costs.
2. Run targeted profiling/tuning jobs for top assets (cost shown in DGPU).
3. Show reduced incidents and reduced DGPU (or same DGPU delivering higher value).
4. Present net benefit (reduced incidents × estimated business cost avoided minus governance compute cost).

Tying the telemetry to business outcomes (reduced rework, faster analytics, fewer compliance incidents) is the most persuasive story for stakeholder buy-in.

Microsoft positions Unified Catalog and Purview as tools to deliver “data confidence” that supports responsible innovation. Use that framing when you build the ROI narrative.

Quick Checklist

• Enable Usage Monitoring (Preview) in the Unified Catalog admin settings.
• Export 30 days of DGPU consumption by governance domain & asset.
• Map DGPU to cost using Purview pricing (or an internal price per DGPU).
• Identify top 10 consuming assets and one quick optimization (frequency change, batching, or SKU change).
• Share a one-page chargeback showback with domain owners and get alignment on next month’s optimizations.

Make Telemetry Your Governance North Star

Usage Monitoring (Preview) gives you the missing telemetry to treat governance as an accountable, measurable service. Instead of governance being a cost center ledger entry, you can attribute consumption, show value, and make targeted optimizations.

If you’re ready to operationalize these insights or need guidance on building a chargeback model, connect with our experts at 2toLead. Our team can help you design strategies that reduce costs, improve governance efficiency, and align with your organization’s goals.