{
  "id": 2994051,
  "title": "Copilot is ready. Is your data?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/copilot-is-ready-is-your-data",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-24T09:02:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "ITWeb",
    "slug": "itweb",
    "url": "https://www.itweb.co.za/article/copilot-is-ready-is-your-data/RgeVDMPRkgdvKJN3"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Copilot is functional from the moment you activate it, but its success hinges on an essential factor: the data foundation supporting it. Microsoft cannot provide this foundation, so the responsibility lies with the user. The pressure to implement Copilot is widespread, as companies consider purchasing licences and enabling the tool across their organisations. However, the true determinant of Copilot's effectiveness lies in the data it accesses. If the data foundation is not prepared, the tool's potential remains untapped, leading to unreliable answers, low adoption rates, and a lack of productivity gains.\n\nThe crux of the issue is data readiness, not licensing. An organisation's AI readiness is directly tied to the governance of its data. Microsoft's Copilot relies solely on the data it can reach, such as files, mailboxes, and databases, inheriting the permissions already established. If these permissions are lax, Copilot may expose sensitive information. Conversely, if the data is outdated or duplicated, Copilot may provide irrelevant or inaccurate responses. This problem is not uncommon, and it is not a reflection of the technology's shortcomings. Microsoft acknowledges this issue, placing remediating oversharing as the first step in its deployment blueprint for Copilot, followed by guardrails and rollout.\n\nData readiness is not a new concept; it is the vendor's own sequence, and in South Africa, the consequences extend beyond operational concerns. Under the POPIA privacy regulations, organisations remain responsible for how personal information is accessed and used, a responsibility that does not transfer to vendors or AI systems. The urgency of addressing data readiness is not a quick fix but a comprehensive process. Instead of superficially tidying up permissions or delaying action until the data is flawless, the goal is to govern the data each use case interacts with before deployment and align the readiness with the rollout. This approach requires deliberate effort, including understanding the data held, modernising the platform, governing access, and structuring and cleaning the data to ensure it is current, correct, and compliant.\n\nMicrosoft offers temporary solutions like Restricted SharePoint Search, but these are merely stop-gaps that do not address the underlying permission issues. True data readiness involves modernizing the platform, optimizing access controls, and protecting the estate to ensure Copilot retrieves accurate, authorized, and compliant information. This work compounds if done in the right order; however, piecemeal efforts create the same gaps that AI systems will exploit. In essence, readiness is a discipline that Ascent delivers as a defined programme. Ascent's Data Platform Modernisation program begins with a structured assessment of the data estate, transforming what is typically a haphazard process into a sequenced roadmap. The assessment provides clients with a clear view of the estate's vulnerabilities, the remediation steps required, and the order in which to prioritize actions based on risk and value.\n\nAscent then modernizes the foundation by consolidating fragmented data, embedding governance and security into the platform, and implementing controls that determine what AI systems can access. Microsoft Fabric's OneLake serves as the foundation, providing a single, governed data estate where access, lineage, and quality are consistently enforced. With Ascent's expertise as a Microsoft Direct CSP, Copilot and Azure licensing can be managed through the same partner responsible for building the data foundation. This unified approach ensures accountability for both the licence and the readiness, rather than siloed tools and neglected foundations.\n\nBy following the right sequence—modernize, optimize, protect—and then activating Copilot, organisations can transform the technology from a gamble into a trustworthy assistant, a defensible estate for the board and regulators, and a competitive advantage that compounds while competitors catch up with their own data readiness efforts.",
  "summary": "Copilot is ready the day you switch it on. Whether it delivers depends on something Microsoft cannot ship you: a governed data estate underneath it, says Johan Lamberts, MD of Ascent Technology.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}