Fast Data Masker

Grid-Tools offers two forms of data masking: simple data masking and fast data masking, where the difference is that the former uses generic drivers and the latter uses native drivers as well as native database utilities. The functionality is also richer in GT Fast Data Masker. Both are part of the Datamaker test data management suite but the latter is also marketed as a stand-alone product called GT Fast Data Masker.

GT Fast Data Masker supports all the leading database environments as well as masking for flat files and has an emphasis not just on masking the data and auditing the results (to ensure compliance) but also on the speed of its masking. There are some relevant test results (from a real customer) posted on the company’s web site. The product includes facilities to profile the data in advance of masking, to determine what data needs to be masked, as well as a comprehensive range of masking options, including a cross-referencing capability so that you can ensure consistent masking if you are masking multiple systems at the same time.

Grid-Tools is not fussy about who uses Fast Data Masker and has no particular industry focus although it does, to a certain extent, focus on the Healthcare and banking sectors, where it has had some notable success. Both of these sectors are ones that are heavily regulated and where compliance requirements around the protection of personal information are paramount. 

More generically, the company’s main emphasis is on companies that agree with its data-driven approach and who appreciate that agile development is as much about the data, and particularly the test data, as it is about the development processes themselves. It would argue, and we would agree, that you can’t have a truly agile development process without agile test data to go with it.

In addition to its own teams, the company has an extensive network of partners across the globe, with trained staff in over 18 countries worldwide. These are split between regional resellers that serve the needs of local markets, and global strategic partners, which include CA Technologies, Accenture and HP. Partners in the Americas include Orasi Software and Softworx, while Central and South America is served by Green Light Technology. In Europe, the Middle East and Asia, partners include ANECON GmbH, Blue Turtle Technologies, Cast Info, INFA Partner, Infuse, Lemontree, Sothis Yazlim, Spica Solutions, WSM, MTP, Soflab Technology, and Software AG.

Grid-Tools has had some significant success in the financial sector though none of its major banking clients can be named. Projects range from establishing a new data warehouse to migrations. Government contracts and healthcare are also notable but again unnamed. The company’s website provides a number of case studies though none of the named users will be familiar to the man on the Clapham omnibus.

Fast Data Masker comes with multiple seed tables, with internationalised versions of these tables where appropriate (such as names) and you can also add your own seed tables. There is multi-column capability so that, for example, state and zip code will match. It also includes cross-reference management so that you can, say, retain the same transformations across runs or databases. You can also define your own functions and there is support for flat file masking. The product can update data directly within the database but you also have the option of extracting data into a staging area, passing it through a masked view and then building shadow tables. Finally, there is also support for updating of primary keys which can be rebuilt automatically as well as data discovery (profiling), version control and difference management, common column discovery to ensure that the same mask is applied to matched columns, and the ability to incorporate sub-setting within the masking process.

It is worth noting the importance of file-based masking, which is often required in conjunction with database masking. For example, you might have scrambled the social security numbers in the target database. However, your input file could now contain non-matching social security numbers and the load will fail. Using the cross reference table, or the hash routines employed by Grid-Tools as a part of the masking process you can ensure that this mismatch doesn’t happen.

Finally, it is important for data governance and compliance reasons that you can prove that you have appropriate processes in place to ensure the integrity of personally identifiable information. Grid-Tools provides workflow capabilities that allow you to define relevant procedures with, for example, checked, validated and approved stages to the identification of which data is to be masked. This lets relevant people look at the data profiling information and confirm that the data has correctly been identified as PII data or not as PII data. This provides a very rigorous audit trail of the due diligence taken by you in order to identify which data needs to be masked.

Databases supported by GT Fast Data Masker include Oracle, DB2, SQL Server, Ingres (Actian), Sybase (SAP), My SQL (Oracle) and Informix (IBM) as well as ODBC and flat files. In the case of DB2 support is provided for both DB2/400 and DB2 on the mainframe as well as for distributed systems. Indeed, Grid-Tools is unusual in having a product that runs directly on mainframe systems.

Grid-Tools offers a range of professional services which supplement the company’s core product range.

Potential clients can sign up for a free 15 day trial of all of Grid-Tools primary solutions. During this period, they will receive the full support of Grid-Tools’ consultants, who will help demonstrate how the solutions can most benefit their development projects.

Once a client has settled on a tool, Grid-Tools aim to help them get the greatest benefit out of it within their organisation. In addition to a full range of consultancy work packages, introductory training courses and workshops for users of all technical ability are offered, and are frequently held in local regions including the UK, USA and India.

In addition to the masking and subsetting work packages, a Data Subset and Data Masking training course equips users with the skills needed to reduce and mask copied data using GT Fast Data Masker and Data Subset. Users of all technical abilities can learn how to generate scripts, and how to build their own masking rules and routines.