Addressing the need to store and manage increasingly large amounts of data that does not fit neatly in rows and columns, NoSQL databases can run on commodity hardware, support the unstructured, non-relational data flowing into organizations from the proliferation of new sources, and are available in a variety of structures that open up new types of data sources, providing ways to tap into the institutional knowledge locked in PCs and departmental silos.
The four key database types that fall under the NoSQL category are Key-Value stores which allow the storage of schema-less data, with a key and actual data, Column family databases, which store data within columns, Graph databases which employ structures with nodes, edges and properties to store data, and Document Databases, which enable simple storage of document aggregates.
And, despite what the name might imply, NoSQL database vendors are increasingly addressing their customers’ need to use SQL as a primary language for querying data. While the NoSQL landscape is still relatively new, it is evolving quickly with new features for greater accessibility, interoperability, security, and governance, and increasingly flexing its muscle for the enterprise.
Best NoSQL Database
MongoDB
FINALISTS
Cassandra (DataStax)
MapR-DB