Test data management (TDM) allows you to test applications in development using real-world data, without putting that data at risk.
The quality of your test data can make a huge difference to development costs and the performance of your applications and the value delivered to your customers and employees..Â
However, managing the data used for testing is a complex task. It must replicate real-world scenarios, protect sensitive information, and be available for developers whenever they need it.
TDM allows you to test applications in development with data similar to that in your live systems, while protecting information and ensuring regulatory compliance.
TDM ensures you always have high-quality data for testing applications — which leads to more reliable software and more successful and cost-effective deployments.Â
Managing test data is a complex undertaking and must be handled carefully. Poor-quality data will generate results that can’t be trusted.
TDM is often used by organizations that process a lot of sensitive data, like those in healthcare and finance. With TDM, that data can be masked to protect private information.
What is it?
Maintaining high-quality data for application testing is a tough task, and as needs become more complex and solutions more sophisticated, it’s only getting tougher.Â

A test data management (TDM) solution allows you to test software with data that mimics your organization’s actual data without exposing it to risk. This means developers can perform rigorous tests of systems and applications, while ensuring compliance and protecting sensitive information.
The end result is better performing applications, lower costs, reduced risk and increased revenues via improving time to market.
What’s in for you?
Testing applications against generic data can only provide generic insights. However, security, regulatory, and privacy concerns mean using live data isn’t an option either, especially for organizations that deal with lots of sensitive information. Â

With TDM, organizations can mask data to protect private information, while ensuring it retains the properties and details essential for rigorous testing.Â
Faster and more accurate testing means organizations can avoid the major financial losses that come with defects after applications are launched. And anonymized data prevents exposure to the financial and reputational risks of non-compliance.Â
Ultimately, TDM makes development faster, deployments cheaper, and applications better while accelerating time to market and growing revenues faster.
What are the trade offs?
Many TDM solutions still require complex, manual processes to operate effectively. And, as with all manual processes, these can be subject to human error.

It’s essential to make the right TDM investments, and ensure your data remains accurate, available, and protected at all times. Failure to do so can lead to inaccurate data being introduced to the testing process, which skews the results and can leave major issues hidden.
How is it being used?
TDM is most often used by organizations with lots of sensitive data — like those in healthcare or finance. However, most organizations have sensitive data of some kind and could benefit from the speed, security and cost savings TDM provides.

TDM enables developers to automate testing, which helps them find bugs as early as possible, making them cheaper and easier to fix, and keeping deployment schedules on track. In one recent example, KeyBank used TDM to save 9,000 hours across nine applications.
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