Microsoft Purview: Migration tool in Unified Catalog to migrate classic glossary terms

Originally posted by Microsoft Apr 15, 2026 Uncategorized 0 Comments

Microsoft Purview introduces a built-in migration tool in Unified Catalog for Data Governance Admins and Stewards to migrate classic glossary terms, templates, and relationships. Migration begins public preview in April 2026 and general availability in July 2026. Classic terms become read-only post-migration or switch.

Data Governance Admins and Data Stewards can use a built‑in migration tool in Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog to migrate classic glossary terms, associated term templates, and asset and column relationships into Unified Catalog. After migration, glossary terms can be managed in Unified Catalog and associated with business concepts and data assets.

This message is associated with Microsoft 365 Roadmap ID 558683.

When this will happen

• Public Preview: We will begin rolling out in late April 2026 and expect to complete by late April 2026.
• General Availability (Worldwide): We will begin rolling out in early July 2026 and expect to complete by early July 2026.

How this affects your organization

Who is affected

• Data Governance Admins
• Data Stewards
• Organizations using classic glossary terms in Microsoft Purview, along with Unified Catalog

What will happen

• Admins can choose to use the built‑in migration tool to migrate classic glossary terms to Unified Catalog.
• Migration includes:
  • Classic glossary terms
  • Associated term templates
  • Asset and column relationships
• Admins who do not need migration can skip the process and use glossary terms only in Unified Catalog.
• In both cases, classic glossary terms will become read‑only.
• After migration or switching, Unified Catalog glossary terms can be used to curate assets and columns.

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What you can do to prepare

• Determine whether your organization uses classic glossary terms.
• Decide whether to:
  • Migrate classic glossary terms to Unified Catalog, or
  • Abandon classic glossary terms and use Unified Catalog glossary terms only.
• If you choose migration:
  • Review the detailed migration documentation.
  • Plan and execute the migration when your organization is ready for all required steps.

Links to detailed migration documentation will be added to the Unified Catalog glossary terms overview documentation when the feature enters public preview.

Compliance considerations

Question	Answer
Does the change alter how existing customer data is processed, stored, or accessed?	Yes. Classic glossary terms, associated term templates, and asset and column relationships may be migrated and stored in Microsoft Purview Unified Catalog instead of the classic glossary location.
Does the change include an admin control?	Yes. Data Governance Admins choose whether to migrate classic glossary terms using the built‑in migration tool or skip migration and switch to Unified Catalog glossary terms.

Message ID: MC1280564