Building the foundations for secure AI adoption in aerospace

How a leading aerospace organisation created the governance foundations needed to innovate with AI while maintaining control of its most sensitive data.

Discover how stronger data governance helped an aerospace leader protect critical IP, reduce exposure risk, and create a controlled foundation for Copilot Studio, Microsoft Fabric and future AI adoption.

For an aerospace organisation trusted with highly sensitive engineering data, AI offered a way to accelerate analysis, collaboration and innovation.

But before teams could explore new use cases with confidence, the business needed to know what information those tools might touch, where it lived and how consistently it was protected.

Its environment held large volumes of engineering data, export-controlled information and intellectual property across multiple countries and business functions.

To make AI adoption secure and viable, Kocho helped the organisation turn that challenge into a practical Microsoft governance programme, strengthening information protection, improving visibility and reducing the risk of sensitive data being exposed.

Turning data governance into everyday practice

Kocho began by mapping current controls, business priorities and how sensitive information was handled across the organisation.

That discovery helped Kocho focus the programme on the areas that mattered most to secure collaboration and future AI use.

Information protection

Kocho helped define and deploy a consistent labelling model for sensitive engineering data, intellectual property, export-controlled information and regulated content. Using Microsoft Purview Information Protection, the programme created 35 sensitivity labels across eight countries, giving teams a clearer, more consistent way to classify and handle critical information.

Data security

Kocho implemented Microsoft Purview DLP controls across SharePoint, OneDrive, endpoints and Copilot scenarios. Nine DLP policies helped reduce the risk of sensitive content leaving approved boundaries or being processed against policy during everyday collaboration.

Identity visibility

To strengthen oversight of the hybrid identity estate, Kocho deployed Microsoft Defender for Identity across three Active Directory forests and 46 domain controllers. This gave security teams a clearer view of identity posture and potential access risk.

Compliance alignment

Kocho brought Purview, Defender and Entra capabilities into a single governance approach, connecting data protection, identity visibility and access controls. That helped replace fragmented practices with a more consistent model for sensitive data, secure collaboration and controlled AI adoption.

User and stakeholder engagement

Kocho led the assessment, business case, roadmap, stakeholder engagement, implementation, user enablement and adoption planning. That meant the programme was shaped around business outcomes as well as technical controls, helping governance become part of everyday Microsoft 365 behaviour and future AI use.

What changed once governance became consistent

The programme gave the organisation a more reliable way to protect sensitive information across Microsoft 365 and prepare for AI adoption with greater control.

Rather than treating governance as a standalone compliance exercise, the work embedded protection into the tools and workflows people already used every day.

That helped the organisation move from fragmented regional practices to a more consistent model for classifying, protecting and managing sensitive information.

The impact in numbers

93% workforce reach through embedded governance controls.
35 sensitivity labels deployed across eight countries.
Nine DLP policies protecting information across Microsoft 365 environments.
Improved identity visibility across three Active Directory forests and 46 domain controllers.
Stronger foundations for AI adoption through a unified governance model.

Before we could take AI conversations any further, we needed confidence that our information was being handled properly and consistently. This project gave us that confidence.

Global Digital Collaboration Director

A safer route to AI adoption

Today, the organisation has a more consistent way to protect, govern and manage sensitive information across its operations.

That foundation is now supporting the next phase of AI adoption, including governed Copilot Studio environments, Microsoft Fabric readiness, defined approval processes and the exploration of new AI use cases for future delivery.

For organisations in highly regulated, data-sensitive sectors, the project perfectly highlights why secure AI adoption starts with knowing what information you hold, how it is protected and who can access it.

If you’d like to discuss how to secure your AI journey, arrange a call with our consultants.