The Evolution of NoSQL

Relational databases management systems (RDBMSs) have been widely used for storing and processing critical business information since their inception in a 1970 paper by Edgar Codd. The introduction of SQL allowed for efficient access and modification of large data sets, making RDBMSs the most popular data management system. However, they are limited to handling relatively small amounts of structured data. With the rise of big data, NoSQL databases emerged as a solution for managing large volumes of unstructured data. While currently only accounting for 3% of the database market, NoSQL is gaining traction and offers advantages over RDBMSs such as handling large data volumes and supporting various data models. Despite this, businesses are not abandoning their RDBMS systems entirely, as they remain effective for managing transactional workloads. An enterprise data layer can help integrate legacy technology with new applications, allowing organizations to take advantage of both RDBMSs and NoSQL databases.