- Apache Hadoop
- Mongodb
- Big Data
- Apache Spark
- NoSQL Databases
- NoSQL
- Cloud Database
- Cloudant
- Cassandra
- SparkSQL
- SparkML
NoSQL, Big Data, and Spark Foundations Specialization
Springboard your Big Data career. Master fundamentals of NoSQL, Big Data, and Apache Spark with hands-on job-ready skills in machine learning and data engineering.
Offered By


What you will learn
Work with NoSQL databases to insert, update, delete, query, index, aggregate, and shard/partition data.
Develop hands-on NoSQL experience working with MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, and IBM Cloudant.
Develop foundational knowledge of Big Data and gain hands-on lab experience using Apache Hadoop, MapReduce, Â Apache Spark, Spark SQL, and Kubernetes.
Perform Extract, Transform and Load (ETL) processing and Machine Learning model training and deployment with Apache Spark.
Skills you will gain
About this Specialization
Applied Learning Project
The emphasis in this specialization is on learning by doing. As such, each course includes hands-on labs to practice & apply the NoSQL and Big Data skills you learn during lectures.
In the first course, you will work hands-on with several NoSQL databases- MongoDB, Apache Cassandra, and IBM Cloudant to perform a variety of tasks: creating the database, adding documents, querying data, utilizing the HTTP API, performing Create, Read, Update & Delete (CRUD) operations, limiting & sorting records, indexing, aggregation, replication, using CQL shell, keyspace operations, & other table operations.
In the next course, you’ll launch a Hadoop cluster using Docker and run Map Reduce jobs. You’ll explore working with Spark using Jupyter notebooks on a Python kernel. You’ll build your Spark skills using DataFrames, Spark SQL, and scale your jobs using Kubernetes.
In the final course you will use Spark for ETL processing, and Machine Learning model training and deployment using IBM Watson.
The courses in the specialization require that you have basic computer and data literacy skills, as well as some programming background with languages such as with Python and SQL.  No prior knowledge or experience of Big Data and NoSQL is required.
The courses in the specialization require that you have basic computer and data literacy skills, as well as some programming background with languages such as with Python and SQL.  No prior knowledge or experience of Big Data and NoSQL is required.
How the Specialization Works
Take Courses
A Coursera Specialization is a series of courses that helps you master a skill. To begin, enroll in the Specialization directly, or review its courses and choose the one you'd like to start with. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. It’s okay to complete just one course — you can pause your learning or end your subscription at any time. Visit your learner dashboard to track your course enrollments and your progress.
Hands-on Project
Every Specialization includes a hands-on project. You'll need to successfully finish the project(s) to complete the Specialization and earn your certificate. If the Specialization includes a separate course for the hands-on project, you'll need to finish each of the other courses before you can start it.
Earn a Certificate
When you finish every course and complete the hands-on project, you'll earn a Certificate that you can share with prospective employers and your professional network.

There are 3 Courses in this Specialization
Introduction to NoSQL Databases
This course will provide you with technical hands-on knowledge of NoSQL databases and Database-as-a-Service (DaaS) offerings. With the advent of Big Data and agile development methodologies, NoSQL databases have gained a lot of relevance in the database landscape. Their main advantage is the ability to effectively handle scalability and flexibility issues raised by modern applications.
Introduction to Big Data with Spark and Hadoop
Bernard Marr defines Big Data as the digital trace that we are generating in this digital era. In this course, you will learn about the characteristics of Big Data and its application in Big Data Analytics. You will gain an understanding about the features, benefits, limitations, and applications of some of the Big Data processing tools. You’ll explore how Hadoop and Hive help leverage the benefits of Big Data while overcoming some of the challenges it poses.
Data Engineering and Machine Learning using Spark
Organizations need skilled, forward-thinking Big Data practitioners who can apply their business and technical skills to unstructured data such as tweets, posts, pictures, audio files, videos, sensor data, and satellite imagery and more to identify behaviors and preferences of prospects, clients, competitors, and others.
Offered by

IBM Skills Network
IBM is the global leader in business transformation through an open hybrid cloud platform and AI, serving clients in more than 170 countries around the world. Today 47 of the Fortune 50 Companies rely on the IBM Cloud to run their business, and IBM Watson enterprise AI is hard at work in more than 30,000 engagements. IBM is also one of the world’s most vital corporate research organizations, with 28 consecutive years of patent leadership. Above all, guided by principles for trust and transparency and support for a more inclusive society, IBM is committed to being a responsible technology innovator and a force for good in the world.
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