About Sasha Korniak
Microsoft Purview and Data Governance Specialist

I’m Sasha Korniak, founder of the Data SkyLab Studio YouTube Channel and a Subject Matter Expert in Microsoft Purview and Data Governance. I am a multi-disciplinary Data & Technology specialist and hands-on contractor, combining deep expertise in Microsoft Purview and Data Governance with broad experience across architecture, metadata, engineering, cloud and delivery.

My experience follows a Comb-Shaped Skill Set: deep expertise across several specialist disciplines, supported by broad knowledge across adjacent areas of data, technology and cloud. This allows me to connect governance, architecture, engineering, security and delivery rather than treating them as isolated disciplines.

I work from business and governance requirements through solution definition, solution architecture and design into hands-on configuration, engineering and implementation. This enables me to bridge the gap between governance policy, technical architecture and practical delivery.

My Microsoft Purview work spans Risk & Compliance, Data Governance and Data Security, with particular depth in Unified Catalog, Data Map and Data Health. I design and implement governance structures including Governance Domains, Data Products, Data Assets, Glossary Terms, Critical Data Elements, OKRs, Data Map; Collections, Registration of Data Sources, Scanning. Ownership and stewardship models, RBAC, metadata, health management, and data quality. Lineage, classifications, sensitivity, workflows and source onboarding.

A key part of my work is metadata and governance architecture. I design the metamodels and structures that determine how business concepts, technical assets, ownership, metadata and governance controls are represented within Microsoft Purview, then work hands-on to implement and operationalise those designs.

My wider technical background spans Enterprise and Data Architecture, Metadata Management, Data Engineering, Azure, AWS, Agile delivery and IT Service Management. This means I understand not only the governance layer, but also the data platforms, models, pipelines, technical metadata, security controls and physical Data Assets that Microsoft Purview is governing.

Where automation improves scale and consistency, I also use REST APIs and Python for metadata enrichment, integration, extraction, analysis and supporting operational processes.

Recent UK Government engagements have focused on translating Data Governance policies and operating models into working Microsoft Purview capabilities, while providing technical and solution leadership across multidisciplinary teams.

My focus is practical and sustainable delivery: creating governance that people can actually use, transferring knowledge to internal teams and leaving organisations with usable documentation, repeatable processes and capabilities they can continue to operate and improve.

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