NoSQL databases are a popular type of non-relational database with over 100 different options. NoSQL databases are not new but have grown due to scalable internet applications and distributed computing. Major early NoSQL databases included BigTable, Dynamo, and other key-value stores. NoSQL databases scale to large "big data" workloads and come in different types including document stores, key-value stores, column-oriented stores, and graph databases. They are often used by large companies for their flexibility and performance with large datasets.