Independent comparison of Delphix vs K2view across data masking, test data management, and synthetic data generation
Intro to Delphix vs K2view
Delphix and K2view each aim to accelerate software delivery by giving DevOps and QA teams faster access to compliant, reliable test data. Delphix delivers this through a virtualization tool that ingests production databases into a staging area, masks the data, compresses it, and then presents virtual copies to lower environments.
K2view, on the other hand, uses a business entity approach that organizes data around customers, accounts, devices, or any logical business construct. Each entity’s data is continuously collected across operational systems and stored in secure, compressed micro-databases. This architectural model becomes the basis for its unified test data management, data masking, and synthetic data generation capabilities.
While Delphix is a good database virtualization tool for a defined list of supported technologies, K2view stands out as a high-performing enterprise-grade product with a 5/5 Gartner Peer Insights 12-month average rating – engineered for organizations with complex, distributed data landscapes, strict privacy mandates, and fast release cycles.
A recent Gartner Market Guide for Data Masking and Synthetic Data reinforces why a unified test data management, data masking, and synthetic data generationsynthetic data generation platform matters. Gartner notes that many static data masking tools “frequently lack advanced capabilities such as synthetic data generation or differential privacy, which are increasingly requested by end customers,” and specifically recommends that enterprises prioritize products that “include the creation of synthetic data, synthetic records, events or tabular synthetic data, as this can greatly speed up existing test data management processes.”
On the one hand, this recommendation aligns directly with K2view’s integrated approach – where masking, subsetting, and 4 types of synthetic data generation are built into the same engine that provisions test data. On the other hand, Delphix requires external tools for synthetic data generation and focuses primarily on virtualization, leaving critical privacy and test data management functions fragmented.
Delphix vs K2view comparison table
Let’s take a look at Delphix vs K2view over 13 different areas:
| Area | Delphix | K2view | K2view benefits |
| Core test data management approach |
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Uses a business entity approach that:
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Fresher, safer test data, with far less infrastructure overhead |
| Data source coverage |
|
Connects to virtually any source:
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Future-proof solution for hybrid, legacy, and cloud environments |
| Subsetting for test data management |
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Maintains referential integrity via no-code entity rules across all systems | Realistic, multi-source subsets without scripting |
| Moving test data between environments |
|
Provisions the same dataset to any environment in minutes | Acceleration of defect reproduction and parallel testing |
| Per-tester reservation and rollback | Requires separate environments or volume-level clones | Features entity-level reservation and time travel for isolated tester workspaces | Elimination of environment sprawl and tester collisions. |
| Near real-time test data | Performs staging and masking cycles, but it often takes hours or even days | Streams and masks fresh data in near real time | Rapid issue reproduction under operational conditions |
| PII discovery and masking model | Masks data after ingestion, leaving PII temporarily exposed | Masks inflight, so PII is always protected | Reduction of compliance exposure and privacy risk |
| Masking functions and extensibility |
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Dozens of configurable, reusable functions across structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data | Acceleration of policy rollout and global compliance |
| Unstructured data masking | Limited support | Support for PDFs, images, documents, audio, and more | Closure of a major enterprise privacy gap |
| Test data self-service | Self-service at the database clone level | Entity-level:
|
High-utility test data provisioned directly by the user |
| Synthetic data generation | Limited support, for synthetic reference file data only | Integrated synthetic data generation via 4 methods:
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All testing needs covered, without additional tooling |
| Pricing and TCO |
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Priced by number of sources, rather than size or usage | Easier scaling and lower total cost |
| Role in the tooling landscape | Good point tool for virtualization of supported databases | Unified test data management, data masking, and synthetic data generation in one enterprise-class product | Cross-company fit(where Delphix is departmental) |
Key advantages of K2view
K2view offers a single solution integrating test data management, data masking, and synthetic data as recommended by Gartner. Here’s a quick overview of the 3 disciplines:-
Test data management
K2view test data management tools are centered on the business entity model. Instead of stitching tables and schemas together manually, the solution automatically composes each customer, order, device, or policy from every relevant operational system. This abstraction hides complexity, significantly increasing adoption among developers and testers.
Capabilities include:
- A comprehensive, modular test data product combining sensitive data discovery, masking, subsetting, test data management strategy, self-service provisioning, and synthetic data generation in a single environment
- Self-service provisioning that enables testers to subset, reserve, age, refresh, roll back, and load data in minutes
- Integration with any system – packaged apps, mainframe, microservices, cloud warehouses, or legacy databases – allowing full test coverage
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Data masking
K2view applies the business entity approach to data masking technology, enabling consistent and reliable masking across systems.
Key advantages include:
- In-flight data masking, so sensitive data is never exposed at rest
- A broad catalog of customizable functions covering global data masking methods
- Unified policies for structured, semi-structured, and unstructured content
- A single masking framework powering test data management and synthetic data generation
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Synthetic data generation
K2view integrates synthetic data generation directly into the test data lifecycle.
Capabilities include:
- End-to-end synthetic data generation lifecycle: Subset and mask training data, generate synthetic datasets, and orchestrate into pipelines
- 4 synthetic data generation methods: Rules-based, cloning, masking-based synthesis, and GenAI
- Entity-aware synthesis that maintains cross-system hierarchies
The K2view unified test data management, data masking, and synthetic data generation solution supports: Snowflake data masking, Workday data masking, mainframe data masking, Oracle data masking, Salesforce data masking, and data masking tools for SQL Server – as well as SAP test data management tools – and more.
Where Delphix is a good fit
Delphix is well suited to:
- Small teams or departmental use
- SMBs with straightforward relational databases
- Data teams seeking a practical point tool for virtualization
- Companies already invested in the Delphix ecosystem
Conclusion
When evaluating Delphix vs K2view, Delphix serves as a capable virtualization tool for supported databases. K2view, however, delivers a comprehensive enterprise-grade data product that unifies test data management, data masking, and synthetic data generation through its business entity approach.
Experience K2view Test Data Management first-hand in our interactive product tour.
