Comparison
SAP Test Data Migration Server was built for ECC, and SAP hasn't released it for S/4HANA. Teams moving to S/4HANA need another way to build lean, masked test clients. Synthesized covers the TDMS scenarios and adds synthetic data, non-SAP systems and hooks for test automation.
Each scenario you run in TDMS today has a counterpart, so the switch doesn't change how your test clients are shaped.
| TDMS scenario | What it does | With Synthesized |
|---|---|---|
| Time-based reduction | Copies configuration and master data, plus transactions after a cut-off date | Time slicing by any date range, applied across the whole document chain |
| Company code reduction | Limits the copy to chosen company codes | Subsetting by company code, plant, sales organization or other business keys |
| Master data and configuration only | A client without transactional data | Configuration and master data only, with synthetic transactions added where tests need them |
| Client shell creation | An empty client with repository objects and configuration | A target client prepared from configuration plus a masked subset |
| Data scrambling | Rule-based scrambling of chosen fields | AI-assisted discovery of personal data, then masking, scrambling or synthetic replacement, consistent across SAP and non-SAP systems |
Scenario names follow SAP's TDMS documentation; your TDMS release may label them differently.
The three ways SAP teams fill test systems, side by side.
| Full system copy | SAP TDMS | Synthesized | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs on S/4HANA | Yes | Not released by SAP | Yes |
| Test system size | Same as production | Reduced | Reduced by business keys or dates |
| Personal data | Copied as is unless masked separately | Scrambling rules you define | Detected and masked, standard and Z-tables |
| Synthetic data | No | No | Yes |
| Non-SAP systems | No | No | Yes, with consistent values |
| Test automation | Not designed for it | Not designed for it | Tricentis Tosca and UiPath integrations |
SAP built TDMS for ECC and has not released it for S/4HANA. Below are five alternatives, compared from each vendor's own pages as of October 2026: three install inside SAP and two run outside it.
| Tool | Approach | Runs as | Also covers non-SAP? | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAP TDMS (SAP) | Copies a reduced set of production data: from a cut-off date, by company code or plant, master data and configuration only, or an empty client shell. Scrambles fields with rules you define | SAP add-on (DMIS) on a central, a sender and a receiver system | No. It copies between SAP systems | ECC landscapes that already run it. SAP has not released it for S/4HANA |
| Other SAP add-on copy tools | Copy reduced clients or selected business objects from production, and scramble sensitive fields during the copy | SAP add-ons installed in the SAP landscape | Typically not. They copy between SAP systems | SAP-only landscapes that want copies of real data made inside SAP |
| Qlik Gold Client | Copies referentially complete subsets of master and transactional data into development, test and QA clients. Masks, transforms and purges personal data | Installed in SAP by importing transports | Not stated. Supports ABAP-based SAP components, including ECC, S/4, CRM, SCM and BW | Large SAP ABAP estates, BW included, that want subset copies and masking from one tool inside SAP |
| DataMaker (Automators) | An AI agent reads your OData metadata and generates records on demand, with no production copy needed. It can also anonymise production data | Self-hosted. Writes to S/4HANA through OData V2 and V4 | Yes. PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle and REST APIs | S/4HANA teams that want generated data instead of production copies |
| Velvet Mind Data Refresh Operator | Copies a time slice of production with all dependent objects. Masking is built in, and playbooks automate the steps around each refresh | ABAP application inside the SAP landscape | Not stated | S/4HANA 2023 or later only. It does not support ECC |
| Synthesized | Subsets by company code, organisational unit, date range or business object, with time slicing across the document chain. Finds and masks personal data in standard and Z-tables. Generates data that passes SAP's validations | Outside SAP, in your environment: a server, Kubernetes or OpenShift, on-premise, private cloud or air-gapped. Connects through OData or directly to SAP HANA | Yes. The same masking rules and values reach the CRM, data warehouse, banking and HR systems your SAP processes talk to | S/4HANA, RISE and ECC programmes that need masked, subset and generated data across SAP and non-SAP systems |
Sources, read on 12 October 2026: Gartner Peer Insights: SAP Test Data Migration Server; SAP Community: SAP TDMS; SAP message CNV_MBT 730; Qlik Gold Client help; Qlik Gold Client product page; Automators: SAP TDMS alternative; Automators: DataMaker; Velvet Mind: Data Refresh Operator; Velvet Mind: SAP TDMS alternative for S/4HANA; Gartner Peer Insights: SAP Selective Test Data Management Tools.
More comparisons: Qlik Gold Client vs Synthesized and Synthesized vs Tonic.
If you stay on ECC until your S/4HANA project starts and TDMS already does what you need, keep it for now. Plan the switch for your first mock conversion, when the target system is S/4HANA and TDMS can't follow.
SAP hasn't released TDMS for S/4HANA, and S/4HANA customers on SAP Community report that it no longer works after conversion.
The free first step is a 30-minute health check. After that, a fixed-scope, 10-day validation proves it on your S/4HANA sandbox, against pass/fail criteria you set.
You recreate them as masking rules during the validation, and add rules for any personal data the scan finds that TDMS never covered.
As of October 2026, the alternatives include Qlik Gold Client, Velvet Mind Data Refresh Operator and other SAP add-on copy tools, which run inside SAP, and DataMaker by Automators and Synthesized, which run outside it. A full system or client copy is the fallback. The tools differ on S/4HANA release support, generated data and non-SAP coverage.
As of October 2026, Qlik Gold Client is installed by importing transports, and Velvet Mind Data Refresh Operator runs as an ABAP application in the SAP landscape. Synthesized and DataMaker install nothing in SAP. Synthesized connects through OData or directly to SAP HANA. DataMaker writes records through OData.
Some can. Synthesized applies the same masking rules and replacement values to the CRM, data warehouse, banking and HR systems your SAP processes talk to, so a customer looks the same everywhere. DataMaker also connects to PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle and REST APIs. As of October 2026, the TDMS, Gold Client and Data Refresh Operator pages describe SAP systems only.
Add-on tools are an established way to copy and scramble SAP data, and they install in the SAP system. Synthesized runs outside SAP and also covers non-SAP systems and generated data on the same platform. See the four approaches side by side.
Start with a 30-minute health check. If it's a fit, a 10-day validation runs the scenario that matters most on your own S/4HANA data.
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