Informatica Test Data Management (TDM) Reviews

We use it to bring live production data into a testing environment for developers and code testing. It works well because it seamlessly connects with the ETL engine and has its own policy pack, reducing the need for custom coding.

TDM also has strong masking capabilities for sensitive data like names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and bank accounts, which is crucial, especially in the financial industry.

We also primarily use Informatica PowerCenter, which is our ETL tool. TDM integrates well with PowerCenter, allowing us to bring in development data and incorporate it into the transformation phase of our ETL process. The masked and subsetted data is then loaded into our testing environments.

Informatica TDM improved our data compliance and security for testing. 

Some companies use custom-built, in-house solutions to mask sensitive data, such as Social Security numbers or credit card information. But then, these solutions can vary in robustness and may not allow to track changes.

With Informatica TDM, any production data brought into a non-production environment is automatically securitized. TDM offers different algorithms (around 24 at the time) to choose from for masking data. This flexibility allows us to customize the masking process according to our specific needs.

Informatica TDM is also developer-friendly, making it easy for ETL developers to pick up and use without extensive training. It's not overly complicated and provides a streamlined approach to data masking and security.

Data subsetting and testing cycle: 

Data subsetting is a key aspect of sampling in our testing process. All I need is a small representative sample, like ten thousand records or so. We can select the sample and ensure it covers all possible scenarios. 

The subsetting algorithm in TDM helps us make sure that the subset is representative of the entire population, even with terabytes of data. This is crucial for efficient testing.

The main thing is, in version 9.7.1 (and I think it's still there), there are two features: persistent data masking (PDM) and dynamic data masking (DDM). Both options are used by companies in some way. 

Dynamic data masking means that if someone with authority queries the database, they can see the actual data. However, lower-level users without the necessary permissions will see masked data. It depends on who runs the query. For example, a CEO would see everything, but others wouldn't. Dynamic data masking is implemented in data transit. 

I had the privilege of working with and managing this product back in 2017 when we were implementing version 9.7.1. 

Openness, flexibility, and user-friendliness.

I've only worked with versions 9.7 and 10.5.1, and I'm not familiar with the newest features in the current version, 10.5.1. 

However, I'm sure they have incorporated AI capabilities, as that is the current industry trend. It is this new buzzword. Informatica itself introduced CLAIRE AI. 

I am four versions behind. So, it would be good if I upgraded. Plus, Informatica has rebranded this TDM. It's not even originally from Informatica. They purchased the company that makes the application around 2010.

Informatica has purchased so many companies for different purposes, like business-to-business, test data management, and more. They change the trade name so frequently. It used to be ILM, Informatica Lifecycle Management, then they changed it to something else, then Test Data Management, and then Security Governance and Policy Management or something like that. It's all different names for the same product. Frequent rebranding and name changes can create confusion for customers.

I have experience with this product. 

The customer service and support are very responsive. Even for newer products, the responses are technical and helpful. However, for some products acquired by Informatica, such as the application acquired from Hyperion for MDM, there might be a need for more specific expertise. 

Even in 2017, those companies still seemed to exist as separate entities within Informatica, not fully integrated. So, if we opened a case for TDM, it might take a bit longer to connect with the right person who specializes in that specific product.

Even with the acquisitions, it's getting better. But the pace may not be as fast as we would like, as there is a learning curve for them.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. 

I did the setup myself. That's one of the things I remember from my seven-year-old experience. I  haven't used that product since 2017, so I don't know what developments have taken place.

Back then, it was a bundle. Like, if you purchased all the Informatica products (PowerCenter, Data Quality, Data Scrubbing, etc.), they would give you a CD to download and install TDM. It was on an AI platform. 

When it came time to upgrade from 9.7 to 10.1, we could upgrade all the other products, but there was an issue with TDM. It seemed like they weren't ready for the upgrade.

We asked if we could wait, but that wasn't an option because the rest of our ETL toolset would then be out of compliance and support. They suggested spinning off TDM onto separate hardware, even though it came bundled on the CD. Our license would cover this, so we decided to spin up another instance.

Initially, we considered an AIX machine, but that was too expensive. They suggested using Linux instead, as it's more affordable and runs on commodity hardware. So, we put TDM on a Linux box, brought over all the development code, and continued our work. Once that was done, we integrated it back.

The setup was straightforward. There were no complicated configurations. It was just a matter of installing and setting up the basic configurations, as you would expect.

Other than that, there was nothing unusual or complex about the setup process.

ROI is good. You can easily make it back in two to three years. For instance, from around 2005-2008, I worked at a state department in one of the 50 states. As a public education agency, we didn't have a lot of funding and had to account for every penny. 

We needed to integrate Excel, PDF, and Microsoft Word into Informatica, and they offered an unstructured data option for that. We also evaluated UDT (unstructured data transformation), an option within the ETL tool. We thought it would be an incremental cost, but it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. We questioned the value of such an investment for our needs. The benefit is that you can easily accomplish similar tasks in other ways.

For instance, there was a situation where we had to integrate with Salesforce instead of a DC at a different state agency.  Deloitte came up with its solution for testing and coding. We evaluated Informatica, but the price was too steep. They suggested using Talend Open Studio, a community edition. It was free for our purposes since some products offer both community and enterprise editions. We went with the community edition, and it worked fine.

Depending on the business need, Informatica's value can be justified. I know that when I was at Informatica, JP Morgan and Citibank were our customers. They would test any product we developed before it was released to the public. For them, the cost was not an issue, but for smaller businesses, it could be.

So, the ROI depends on the specific business need, and it can be justified in many cases. 

Informatica charges based on the number of cores you have, and they may charge extra if you exceed a certain limit. The price is a little high, but that's how software companies generate revenue – by selling licenses, consulting, and training.

It's a good, solid product. It has all the options you need. If the policy pack that comes with the product doesn't satisfy your requirements, there's also an option to custom code and build your own solution. That should cover anything under the sky.

Overall, I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

We cannot provide production data to our testing teams, so we use TDM to encrypt or mask the data and create a copy for them. Many teams rely on our data, and TDM helps maintain data security by masking sensitive information.

The primary function of TDM is to mask data while maintaining referential integrity, which allows us to provide necessary data to testing teams without compromising sensitive information.

The most valuable feature of TDM is its ability to mask data while maintaining referential integrity. This is crucial for us because we cannot share production data directly with the testing team due to sensitive information.

A lot of improvement is needed, mainly due to the fact that the tool is very slow. There are numerous issues, and we have reported these to the Informatica vendor. They don't seem to be focusing much on TDM, and the performance issues, especially considering we have billions of data, are significant.

I have been using TDM for at least three to four years.

The performance is what we are encountering as a challenge as we have billions of data to process, and it consumes a lot of space.

Customer service quality depends on the engineer handling the case. Some engineers are really good, while others are not as effective. I would not like to rate them without further experience.

I have used Atacama and Snowflake for data integration. However, they operate differently as they are cloud-based, unlike Informatica, which integrates more seamlessly.

The installation and initial setup for Informatica TDM is straightforward, especially for someone with experience. It's similar across their product lines, with a focus on creating specific services.

Informatica is known for being a very expensive tool, including TDM, as we have a range of Informatica products like MDM, PowerCenter, and Axon.

For data integration and governance, I have worked with Atacama, Snowflake, and SSIS.

TDM is a worthwhile recommendation if the customer is interested, but for small-scale companies that do not want to spend a lot, it might be too costly.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten.

I am an administrator for the Informatica Test Data Management solution. My team uses it to generate test data, create dummy data, replicate production data by masking it, and use it within the QA environment for testing.

The solution automates the generation and masking of data, significantly speeding up processes that would otherwise be tedious if done conventionally.

We do not need to write complex SQL statements as the solution provides a GUI to perform activities. This includes generating data, copying production data, and masking it. The default rules for data masking are highly effective, and there's an option to write additional rules with regular expressions, making the data masking process very efficient.

I face multiple issues, but these are not due to a lack of functionality in the product but rather its inherent complexity. There is a lag while opening the console, which is a concern from my end. Additionally, the logs are not always clear, and sometimes, accessing the PowerCenter server becomes necessary to identify errors.

I have been working with it for almost eight to nine years.

The tool is overall stable because it runs on PowerCenter, which is a very stable tool from Informatica.

I have used the on-premises edition, and it doesn't seem to be easily scalable. I have not tried scaling it, so I can't provide detailed insights on that aspect.

The technical support is very good. Having worked in the tech support team myself, I found it to be efficient and helpful.

Positive

I have not worked with any other test data management solutions.

The initial setup was quite straightforward, with no major challenges. Internal access and permissions took some time, but these were due to organizational policies rather than the tool itself.

I was part of the team responsible for the initial deployment of the solution, which included installation, configuration, and providing user access.

The solution is very cost-effective due to our enterprise license agreement, which includes all Informatica products under a single bundle. This helps distribute the costs across various projects.

Typically, I am not involved in the pricing and licensing aspect, as that is handled by my superiors.

I have not evaluated any other solutions.

I would definitely recommend the TDM solution to users with rigorous testing needs. Its ability to mask and manage test data efficiently makes it very valuable.

The use case includes data masking regarding GDPR. I developed resources for masking data around a hundred of them. Then, I applied the masking tool, mostly on SQL Server data.

It helped when we were moving data from production to test environments. Due to internal policies, we couldn't directly use raw production data. That's where TDM came in. 

It helped enforce those policies by masking sensitive data elements, allowing us to use anonymized data for testing purposes. 

Additionally, the tool enabled us to leverage Teradata Parallel Transporter to write the masked data efficiently to our Teradata warehouse.

There are variants and plenty of masking techniques, like using the dictionary. It was the most used technique.

Moreover, it helps with the test cycle time because without mask data, for example, we can't upload them to the cloud for the first POC for the cloud providers. So, without masking, we can't send them.

The UI experience is a little bit old. When applying more than 80 columns, it means doing it in phases, as it won't allow it in one go.  

So, this is an area of improvement. 

I have been using it for three years now. 

I would rate the stability a seven out of ten. We sometimes have some downsides, so some restarting is needed.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten because you can very easily add some new nodes to the instance, for example.

There are no issues while scaling up. 

There are four developers and customers across the organizations; the number of customers could be ten teams using this solution, for example. 

It was a little bit tough for us because support was mostly in India, so it was sometimes very hard to get something. So it was hard to get an answer for our tickets.

Because they usually cycle in the questions which were, for example, not very relevant to the topic. It looks like they want to take some time.

Neutral

It wasn't hard for us because we already had PowerCenter installed. So, we followed procedures.

The deployment took three months with all the firewalls and jurisdictions.

Our latest project was more regulatory-based. So, there was no return on investment. It was just needed to have these regulatory policies.

It's expensive because the license needs to be bought for some time period. It's not pay as you go. So there is a bit big investment for every contracting period.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

This tool is going to be deprecated because Informatica is now only selling the cloud version of it. So, it will be moving to the cloud, but I am not sure if this cloud version of TDM is supporting all that functional IT.  

So, for new customers, check if the cloud has all you need. If not, maybe there is still a chance to buy the on-premise version.

It's similar to Data Masking, but it focuses on simulating test data. We can simulate the data instead of using the actual process for testing.

Organizations working on different projects can benefit from this tool. It helps simulate and provide test data for testing purposes.

Probably the ideal time testing site, utilizing self-service for real-time testing, could be an area for improvement.

Very stable. I don't see any problems here.

It's good. I haven't encountered any issues.

The support is good. 

Positive

Informatica Test Data Management is straightforward to set up. It's deployed through AlarmNet.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Informatica Test Data Management is used for test data optimization.

Our clients have several databases and for the test environments, according to the GDPR requirements, they need anonymized data. We run Informatica Test Data Management for anonymization.

Informatica Test Data Management is a complete solution. I'm not very deep in the technical aspect of the solution, but most of the workflows are now completely automated. There are some minor elements where we have to still add manual parts to the implementation.

Informatica has a data governance suite, and at the moment, there is no connection between the data governance elements, such as the data catalog, and the Informatica Test Data Management software. For example, the data discovery which is part of both solutions is two separate things. If you have a data discovery in the data catalog, then we cannot use it for Informatica Test Data Management purposes and vice versa. The same software vendor, has two different products, with the same functionality. There's was no need to separate things. This is something which was a problem in a use case of the customer where this was the reason why they didn't choose the Informatica solution.

I have been using Test Data Management for approximately eight years.

The stability is quite good, we have no major problems.

The scalability of Informatica Test Data Management is good. We use quite a large database and the performance is decent. However, we had to tune it for a while until we could achieve a good performance. The solution is able to be tuned, but it's not obvious if you have only recently implemented it to receive better results.

The technical support from Informatica Test Data Management is great. We are responsive and we have received valuable information for our problems.

The initial installation is reasonably simple.

We have quite a good practice for the new implementation and for upgrades. It took half a day for us to complete the process.

Informatica Test Data Management is no longer available. Informatica has decided to stop selling the solution. They promised to support the existing configurations for many years but as a partner, we cannot sell the solution under these circumstances. They will upgrade the configuration of the existing customers, but for a completely new customer, you cannot sell it.

The new version will be part of the Informatica cloud solution, but it is not yet ready. It is not as well-developed as the on-premise Informatica Test Data Management version.

I rate Informatica Test Data Management a seven out of ten.

• It has good integration with other platform products
• Imports data domains and profiles created with other tools of the suite, such as analysts and developers

It forced the organization to a more extensive and deeper profiling of data. We got a better understanding of our data, which also helped the startup of MDM projects.

The interface design needs improvement. Sometimes it’s a bit cumbersome. It could be more uniform with other tools such as analyst, including organization and functionality.

I have used this solution for almost a year.

I have not had any stability issues.

I have not had any scalability issues because the product uses the ETL part of the suite (PowerCenter).

Informatica’s support for the entire platform is very good and this product is no exception.

We didn’t have a previous solution.

The setup is not complex, but not completely straightforward. With a bit of trial and error, we developed a good methodology to accomplish our goals, i.e., mainly slicing and masking the data.

I don’t have such information. Generally speaking, with Informatica you have to be extremely careful of what are you buying because sometimes the licensing model is a bit tricky.

We have not tried other products.

Take extreme care in developing an effective strategy to use the sections of the product that you need.

The ability to mask the same data consistently and in a repeatable way across heterogeneous data sources (e.g., Oracle, XML). This is done without the need to store original and masked value pairs anywhere physically.

• Provided more realistic and consistent test data dumps to external developers
• Decreased the DWH ETL development and testing cycles
• Allowed more thorough testing to be performed on each layer (ODS, DWH, and DM)

I have used this solution for five years.

Both TDM and the underlying ETL tool are quite stable. There is a resilience period that you can configure in order to avoid downtime, at least during shorter repository database outages.

These products are highly scalable in my experience. They are scalable both horizontally (grid, multi-node environment) and vertically (more CPU cores). They are also scalable in terms of the pushdown capability to the database engine or hive.

We used custom, hand-coded, Oracle PL/SQL-based stored procedures to mask certain data sets. (This wasn't an all-around solution, but rather a targeted solution to solve a certain problem).

It is easy to set up by following the installation guide provided by the vendor.

Go with a subscription, or rent it for a short term. You have a maximum of one- to one and a half-year projects.

Note that TDM licenses will limit the usage of the PowerCenter ETL tool to data masking, data subset, and test data generation.

 It's not possible to use the product for other purposes, e.g., data warehousing.

Go with the PowerCenter standard edition, unless you need business glossary and metadata management capabilities (full data lineage, impact analysis). Those are part of the advanced edition.

We looked at IBM InfoSphere Optim and Oracle Data Masking.

Instead of implementing custom, hand-coded data masking scripts and procedures in-house, go for a well-documented, supported, enterprise-wide, and applicable product.

The rest can be achieved with some customization. The development of an identical software product simply wouldn't be worth the effort.

The learning curve is not long and the product documentation is available in the Informatica knowledge base.

Visit the Informatica Velocity portal for best practices, project lifecycle, and roles/skill sets needed, before investing.

The data masking feature has been the most frequently used one. Masking of sensitive production data was my main job.

This product saves time by enabling pretty quick development of data masking/sub-setting the Informatica code.

• Help file: More detailed steps must be added with illustrative screen images
• Administrator support documentation

I have used this product for about two years. I have used it to create data masking solutions for various projects for my clients during the years 2013 and 2014.

We did encounter stability issues. The service component on the Informatica PowerCenter server had unexpected outages, multiple times, at irregular intervals.

Although the PowerCenter host server was up and running, the product was not accessible/usable since the TDM service was down.

There is no client installation available for this product.

This product can only be used on a web browser like Internet Explorer.

The response from Informatica support was nil.

I used the Informatica PowerCenter tools for the manual creation of data masking codes. I switched to this due to its comparatively, lightning fast, code development.

While using this product for development, the initial steps were mostly like hit and miss as the help manual was insufficient. Since the product has a web-based client interface, navigation during the initial couple of days was a pain.

I only did a theoretical comparative study of this product with other products like Grid-Tools, Dataguise, and Camouflage.

This has been created as an add-on to the robust and famous Informatica PowerCenter server. (If the available, internet bandwidth is strong.)

I would like to rate the product as follows:

• Usability/Ease of use (developer): I would give it a rating of 9/10, as it enables quick code development.
• Help file: I would give it a rating of 6/10, as it needs a considerable amount of improvement to be user-friendly.
• Admin control: I would give it a rating of 7/10, since the Informatica admin was unable to start up its service for unknown reasons.

Dynamic data masking is a valuable feature of this product.

It has improved compatibility with the Informatica users.

• It should enable DevOps in CI/CD environments
• There should be compatibility with big data in SAP environments: These are most widely used in the enterprise level of the organization

There were no stability issues.

There were no scalability issues.

There is good support from Informatica.

We are using multiple solutions, depending on the clients' requirements.

The setup was of medium complexity.

It depends on the business functionality.