- What to look for in a good Data Masking software ?
- Good To Read
- Best Data Masking tools and software available on the market
What to look for in a good Data Masking software ?
Before we discuss on some best Data Masking tools and software available on the market, let’s discuss on features we should look for in a good Data Masking software. While buying a Data Masking Software, one should carefully evaluate the following :
Deployment Architecture
The Data Masking Software should be fully compatible with the environment, because it is directly related to performance, scalability and ease of deployment. Which deployment architecture is good for you entirely depends on your environment. But, one should test it properly to make sure the masking software is well suited for the environment.
Supporting Platform
The Data Masking Software should fully support the platform including databases, file servers and application servers. Even if it does not fully support one of them, one should rethink. Because this is something that determines how well the solution will work for you. Also, one should test the critical platform well before making a buying decision.
Integration with other supporting systems
The Data Masking Solution should also integrate well with other supporting systems. Encryption, key management, Identity and Access Management etc often need to integrate with Data Masking. So, one should carefully investigate and test before making a buying decision.
Data Integrity
One should carefully evaluate how well the Data Masking solution will preserve the usability of the data in the target environment. If the masked data is used for application development, analytics or testing, one needs to make sure the masked data looks real after the masking operations and it does not break any application logic.
In the article What is Data Masking ? we have discussed about various Data Masking techniques that are commonly used by Data Masking solutions. One should make sure the Data Masking technique the solution uses preserves the usability of the data in the target system. To give an example, if the masked data is being used for testing purpose, then Data Masking techniques like shuffling, substitution or numeric variance may prove to be useful, but deletion or character scrambling may prevent testers from testing certain application logic.
Performance and Scalability
One should test and evaluate the performance and scalability of the Data Masking solution. Dynamic Masking should run in near real time and should have no significant impact on performance. Masking solution should not have significant computational overhead either and it should not degrade the network performance. If a large database like Teradata or Hadoop is used, then the masking solution needs to scale well with the database. In short, one should test the solution well in the environment where it is going to be deployed and evaluate the performance before making any decision.
Ease of Use
Ease of use makes the day-to-day tasks easier. The masking solution should not have a complicated user interface that makes performing the tasks more difficult and error prone. Also, pre-built rules and templates saves on time at times and makes deployment easier.
Services
Before making a buying decision one should inquire whether the vendor is going to provide any services like assistance on deployment and setup. It can save on deployment time and costs.
Good To Read
- What is Data Masking and what are the different types of Data Masking ?
- What is Format Preserving Encryption ?
- What is Database Activity Monitoring ?
- What is Database Firewall ?
- What is Database Encryption and why do we need that ?
- Why is it important to store salts with hashed values of passwords ?
