6 min readEverything You Need to Know About the Office 365 Compliance Center

Introduction

In today’s digital-first workplace, organizations handle massive volumes of sensitive data across email, documents, chats, and collaboration platforms. Ensuring this information remains secure, compliant, and well-governed is no longer optional—it’s a business necessity. This is where the Office 365 Compliance Center plays a critical role.

Formerly known as the Office 365 Security & Compliance Center, the platform has now evolved into the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal, offering a unified approach to data protection, risk management, and regulatory compliance across Microsoft 365.

This complete guide explains what the Office 365 Compliance Center is, its core features, benefits, licensing, and best practices—helping organizations meet compliance requirements with confidence.

What Is Office 365 Compliance Center?

The Office 365 Compliance Center is a centralized management portal designed to help organizations identify, manage, protect, and govern data across Microsoft 365 services such as:

• Exchange Online
• SharePoint Online
• OneDrive for Business
• Microsoft Teams

Image Courtesy: Microsoft365 Security and Compliance Center

Today, these capabilities are delivered through the Microsoft Purview Compliance Portal, which extends compliance and governance across cloud, hybrid, and third-party data sources.

Its primary goal is to help organizations meet regulatory, legal, and internal compliance requirements while minimizing risk and ensuring data integrity.

Licensing Requirements

Compliance features vary by license:

• Microsoft 365 E3
  • DLP
  • Retention policies
  • Core eDiscovery
  • Audit (Standard)
• Microsoft 365 E5 / E5 Compliance Add-on
  • Insider Risk Management
  • Communication Compliance
  • Advanced eDiscovery
  • Audit (Premium)

Summary of Office 365 Compliance Center Roles & Permissions

The Office 365 Compliance Center, now part of the Microsoft Purview compliance portal, uses role-based access control (RBAC) to ensure the right people have the right level of access. The table below provides a concise overview of the key Compliance Center roles, outlining their primary permissions and the typical users responsible for each role.

Role Group	Primary Purpose	Key Permissions	Typical Users
Compliance Administrator	Full compliance management	Manage DLP, retention, sensitivity labels, eDiscovery, audit, role groups	Global admins, compliance leads
Compliance Data Administrator	View compliance data & reports	View/export reports, content search, monitor policies	Compliance analysts, auditors
eDiscovery Administrator	Full control over eDiscovery	Assign eDiscovery roles, manage cases, legal holds, exports	Senior legal admins
eDiscovery Manager	Manage legal cases	Create cases, place holds, search & export data	Legal & compliance teams
Insider Risk Management Admin	Configure insider risk policies	Create policies, define indicators, assign analysts	Security & risk teams
Insider Risk Management Analyst	Investigate risk alerts	Review alerts, analyze activity, escalate cases	SOC, HR-security teams
Communication Compliance Admin	Configure communication monitoring	Create policies, classifiers, reviewer workflows	Compliance admins
Communication Compliance Analyst	Review flagged messages	Review Teams/Exchange messages, resolve violations	Compliance reviewers
Records Management Administrator	Data retention & records control	Create retention labels, disposition reviews, declare records	Information governance teams
Audit Administrator	Audit log management	Search/export audit logs, configure audit retention	IT security, internal audit

Key Capabilities of the Office 365 Compliance Center

1. Data Loss Prevention (DLP)

Data Loss Prevention policies help prevent sensitive information—such as credit card numbers, personal identifiers, or financial data—from being accidentally or intentionally shared.

Key features:

• Prebuilt regulatory templates (GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS)
• Custom DLP policies
• Real-time user alerts and policy tips
• Coverage across Exchange, SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams

2. Information Protection & Sensitivity Labels

Sensitivity labels allow organizations to classify and protect data based on its sensitivity.

Capabilities include:

• Data classification (Public, Internal, Confidential, Highly Confidential)
• Encryption and access restrictions
• Visual markings (headers, footers, watermarks)
• Automatic or user-applied labelling

This ensures sensitive content remains protected even when shared externally.

3. eDiscovery (Standard & Premium)

The eDiscovery tools in the Office 365 Compliance Center help legal and compliance teams respond to litigation, audits, and investigations.

Features include:

• Content search across Microsoft 365 workloads
• Legal holds to preserve data
• Advanced analytics (Premium)
• Custodian and case management

4. Insider Risk Management

Insider Risk Management helps identify potential risky user behavior—whether malicious or accidental—while maintaining user privacy.

Use cases include:

• Data theft
• IP leakage
• Security policy violations

Machine learning–based insights allow security teams to respond proactively.

5. Communication Compliance

This feature enables organizations to monitor and detect inappropriate communications across Microsoft Teams, Exchange, and Yammer.[GU1] 

Common scenarios:

• Harassment prevention
• Financial regulatory compliance
• Code of conduct enforcement

6. Audit (Standard & Premium)

The Audit solution provides detailed visibility into user and admin activities.

Audit logs include:

• File access and sharing
• User sign-ins
• Admin configuration changes

Audit (Premium) offers longer retention and advanced investigation capabilities.

7. Records Management & Retention Policies

Retention policies ensure data is kept or deleted in accordance with legal and regulatory obligations.

Key features:

• Retention labels and schedules
• Event-based retention
• Immutable records
• Automated disposition reviews

Office 365 Compliance Center vs Microsoft Purview

While many still search for the Office 365 Compliance Center, Microsoft has consolidated and expanded these capabilities under Microsoft Purview.

Office 365 Compliance Center	Microsoft Purview Compliance
Legacy naming	Modern unified platform
M365-focused	Multi-cloud & hybrid ready
Core compliance features	Advanced governance & AI

Best Practices for Office 365 Compliance Management

1. Start with regulatory templates (GDPR, HIPAA, ISO)
2. Apply sensitivity labels consistently
3. Automate retention and deletion policies
4. Regularly review audit logs
5. Train users on compliance awareness
6. Periodically reassess policies as regulations evolve

Conclusion

The Office 365 Compliance Center, now part of Microsoft Purview, is a powerful platform that enables organizations to safeguard data, reduce compliance risks, and meet regulatory requirements effectively. With integrated tools for data protection, eDiscovery, auditing, and governance, it forms the backbone of a modern Microsoft 365 compliance strategy.

For organizations operating in regulated industries or handling sensitive data, leveraging the full capabilities of Microsoft Purview is not just recommended—it’s essential.

Frequently Asked Questions