Understanding how data flows from your user's browser to your analytics dashboard is critical for IT security and compliance teams. This article provides a high-level overview of the Powell Advanced Analytics data processing architecture.
🔄 The Data Processing Flow
The data collection process is streamlined, secure, and operates entirely within the Microsoft Azure ecosystem.
Data Capture (The Browser): When a user visits a SharePoint page equipped with Powell Intranet, our secure script captures the interaction (e.g., a page view or a Sentiment vote).
Data Transit: The raw data is sent securely via HTTPS (encrypted in transit) to the telemetry ingestion endpoint.
Data Processing & Storage (Application Insights): The data is processed and stored in Azure Application Insights.
If using Powell Storage: Data is securely partitioned within Powell Software's Azure infrastructure.
If using Custom Storage: Data flows directly into your organization's own Azure tenant.
Data Visualization (The Dashboard): When a communicator opens the Advanced Analytics dashboard, the interface queries the Application Insights database in real-time to generate the charts and metrics (like Pulse and Sentiment).
🛡️ Security & Compliance Standards
Because Powell Advanced Analytics is built on top of the Microsoft Azure framework, it inherits enterprise-grade security protocols:
Encryption at Rest: All telemetry data stored in Application Insights is automatically encrypted at rest using Microsoft's standard encryption keys.
Encryption in Transit: All data sent between the client browser, Powell services, and Azure endpoints is secured using TLS 1.2 or higher.
Data Residency: If you are utilizing your own Azure Application Insights instance, your data remains entirely within the geographic region selected during your Azure setup, ensuring compliance with local data residency laws (e.g., keeping European data strictly in Europe).
🧑‍💻 Custom Storage: Bringing Your Own App Insights
For enterprise organizations with strict data governance policies, Powell Software supports a "Bring Your Own Storage" model.
By linking your own Azure Application Insights Connection String in the Advanced Analytics settings, Powell Intranet will push all telemetry data directly into your Azure tenant. This grants your IT Security team 100% control over:
Data access and auditing.
Custom retention rules.
Integration with third-party SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) tools.
(For instructions on setting this up, please refer to the "Technical Setup: Configuring Azure App Insights" article).