Test Data Management Solutions

 

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Overview Benchmarking Compliance DB Test Data DB Subsetting DevOps Test Files/Reports Virtual Test Data TDaaS

Synthesize Smart Test Data & Provision It Your Way

Do you need a test data management solution that can:

  • produce and populate realistic test data for databases with referential integrity
  • generate smart test data in text files, documents, reports or images
  • enhance application quality through stress testing and automation
  • produce the volume needed for hardware and software benchmarking 
  • preview ETL mappings and prototype Data Vault models with test data
  • put anonymized datasets online for offshore developers
  • integrate directly with database cloning, virtualization and DevOps pipelines

using just data models or metadata, but not actual production data? 

If so, you need a robust test data generation tool. Table views, index orders, key relationships, and file and report contents, must reflect the characteristicsof production data to be useful in testing. Generating realistic values and formats with synthetic data in ideal ranges and frequencies -- and populating large targets -- can take a long time with other test data generation tools or programs. 

With the IRI RowGen test data synthesis tool or the IRI Voracity test data management (TDM) platform that embeds RowGen, you can generate multiple, intelligent test data targets -- for test databases, file structures, and custom report formats -- from scratch, all without access to real data. Or if you want to use and anonymize, subset, or otherwise mask real data from production, you can do that with IRI data masking and test data provisioning tools in Voracity, too.

IRI test data software gives you four ways to produce anonymous, but intelligent, test data in referentiallycorrect database, flat-file, semi-structured file, formatted report, and even unstructured file targets:

  1. DB or file synthesis (via random data generation or selection) in IRI RowGen
  2. Prod or test data masking in IRI FieldShield, CellShieldEE, or DarkShield
  3. RDB table subsetting and masking using RowGenor FieldShield
  4. Any combination of the above in IRI Voracity (which includes it all)

Data Synthesis Capabilities

In addition to structurally and referentially correct synthetic test data for every popular RDBMS with defined constraints, RowGen can also create smart synthetic data for software testing. RowGen can seed randomly generated or selected values into custom detail and summary report layouts, document and image files, and popular file/feed formats like these:

RowGen randomly generates field values in more than 100 data types. It can also randomly select data from set files at the field level. That, along with custom/compound data values, value ranges, and distributions, improve test data realism.

Support for standard and complex data transformations, set files, and conditional selection also contribute to RowGen's value in simulating production table and file formats for a variety of applications.

For database users, RowGen leverages the DDL information for Oracle, DB2 UDB, SQL Server, Sybase, Teradata, and other platforms to create realistic tables with structural and referential integrity. Use RowGen to populate an entire test enterprise data warehouse (EDW) or Data Vault 2.0 environment.

 

Data Masking Capabilities

Use any of the static data masking tools available in the IRI Data Protector Suite, or included free in the IRI Voracity platform:

  • IRI FieldShield for structured files and databases
  • IRI DarkShield for structured sources as well as many semi-structured and unstructured data sources
  • IRI CellShield for Excel spreadsheets

to discover (profile, search, and classify), de-identify (encrypt, pseudonymize, blur, redact, etc.), data in production systems and replicate it anonymized in lower dev, test and QA environments.

If you use IRI Voracity, you can use its included RowGen synthesis and FieldShield data masking capabilities to find, classify, subset, and mask data, and integrate that data for static development use in lower environments or virtual use in live testing environments.

Consider our test data management advice as you scope out your requirements and plan your strategy, and see these links for more information on using safe test data for:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is test data management?
Test data management (TDM) refers to the process of creating, provisioning, masking, and maintaining data used for development, testing, QA, and benchmarking. It ensures that non-production environments have reliable, compliant, and realistic data for various test scenarios.
2. How can I generate realistic test data without using production data?
You can use IRI RowGen to synthesize structurally and referentially correct test data from metadata, like DDL, without exposing any real data. It creates randomized or patterned values in realistic formats, ideal for secure application development and performance testing.
3. What are the main ways IRI supports test data generation?
IRI supports test data creation through:

• Synthetic data generation with RowGen
• Static data masking with FieldShield, DarkShield, or CellShield
• Database subsetting and masking
• Integrated workflows in the Voracity platform
4. Can I create test data for both structured and unstructured environments?
Yes. IRI RowGen and DarkShield can generate or mask test data for structured databases, semi-structured files (like JSON or XML), and unstructured sources (like PDFs and image files) to support diverse testing needs.
5. How does IRI RowGen maintain referential integrity in test databases?
IRI RowGen reads metadata like DDL from platforms such as Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2. It then generates test data that adheres to primary/foreign key relationships, ensuring referential integrity across tables.
6. What types of file formats can IRI RowGen generate for test data?
RowGen supports a wide range of file types, including CSV, JSON, XML, Excel, fixed-width, ASN.1, COBOL ISAM, HL7, X12 EDI, HDFS, PDFs, image files, and Kafka/MQTT feeds. It can also populate formatted BIRT and KNIME outputs.
7. Can IRI tools help with test data masking for compliance?
Yes. IRI FieldShield, CellShield, and DarkShield provide static data masking for PII, PHI, and PCI data. These tools help you comply with data privacy laws like HIPAA, GDPR, and PCI DSS by de-identifying sensitive fields.
8. What is the difference between data synthesis and data masking?
Data synthesis creates artificial, but realistic, test data from scratch using metadata or models. Data masking transforms real data to anonymize it by encrypting, redacting, or pseudonymizing sensitive values.
9. Can I subset production data for testing with IRI tools?
Yes. Both RowGen and FieldShield support data subsetting based on rules or queries. You can extract meaningful portions of production data, mask it, and use it safely in test environments.
10. What is TDaaS (Test Data as a Service) in the IRI context?
TDaaS refers to IRI’s ability to deliver ready-to-use, masked or synthetic test data on demand, integrated with DevOps pipelines, virtualization platforms, or cloud-based testing workflows.
11. How does IRI support DevOps and CI/CD with test data?
IRI tools integrate with CI/CD workflows by automating the generation, masking, or provisioning of test data. You can use them in scripts or pipelines to provide up-to-date, compliant datasets at each stage of development.
12. Can I use IRI test data tools for benchmarking?
Yes. RowGen can create large volumes of realistic, scalable data for stress testing software, validating database performance, and benchmarking hardware or systems under load.
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