This document introduces NoSQL databases and discusses their role in cloud computing. It describes how NoSQL databases relax ACID properties to improve availability and partition tolerance. The document categorizes NoSQL databases as key-value stores, column-oriented databases, document-based databases, and graph databases. It provides examples like Dynamo, BigTable, Cassandra, and MongoDB. The document concludes that NoSQL covers some but not all cloud data needs and that hybrid and NewSQL solutions provide more functionality.