---
name: data-virtualization-getting-started
title: Getting started with Data Virtualization
description: Use IBM® Data Virtualization to break data silos across hybrid data sources and build a data fabric solution for data management. You can use Data Virtualization just as you would any data source, but without the time and expense of hardware setup or software installation and maintenance.
last-updated: 2026-04-22
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/data-virtualization?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

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# Getting started with Data Virtualization
{: #getting-started}

Use IBM® Data Virtualization to break data silos across hybrid data sources and build a data fabric solution for data management. You can use Data Virtualization just as you would any data source, but without the time and expense of hardware setup or software installation and maintenance.
{: shortdesc}

To get started, see [Quick start: Virtualize data](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/wsj/getting-started/get-started-virtualize.html?format=markdown).


For information about using Data Virtualization with Cloud Pak for Data as a Service, see [Virtualizing data with Data Virtualization](https://dataplatform.cloud.ibm.com/docs/content/dvaas/virtualizing_data.html?format=markdown).

1. After you create the Data Virtualization service on IBM Cloud®, you must create IAM service credentials by clicking the **Service credentials** tab on your service page and selecting **New credential**.
   You can log in to the web console without credentials, but you need the service credentials to use many of the Data Virtualization tools.

2. To retrieve your service credentials, select the **Service credentials** tab from your service page and expand the credentials that you want to view.