Big data is a huge initiative that provides solutions for managing and utilising data for the benefit of your business. However, it can be quite expensive to implement Big Data in your organisation given that you have to spend heftily in training your Big Data and IT experts. Here are some of the free resource options available for sharpening your skills in Hadoop administration that will help you save costs:

1. Big Data University
This online university provides a wide range of paid certification programs but still there are over 80 courses related to Big Data that are available for free. You can register for Hadoop training, SQL, DB2, Spark Fundamentals, Scala Programming, Big Data Analytics, and much more, all for free.

2. Udacity
Udacity offers courses and learning materials for free, but you need to subscribe to them to get Nanodegrees. They provide a remarkable list of free of charge programs, including tutorials on data science, mobile operating systems, web development, etc. Needless to add, these courses are excellent as they are designed by industry giants like Facebook and Twitter.

3. Cloudera Online Programs
Cloudera offers certification programs in Hadoop and Spark. You can study online for free using their video courses. The list of free courses offered by them includes Apache Hadoop training and an online demonstration of Hadoop. In addition, you can avail specially designed classes for data analytics, developers, and administrators.

4. Hortonworks Videos & Tutorials
Besides their numerous courses that involve a fee, Hortonworks offers plenty of tutorials and videos. Download and set up Hortonworks Sandbox to benefit from these tutorials. By carefully choosing your training, you can even prepare for the HDPC Developer exam free of cost, but obtaining the certification requires a fee.

5. YouTube
Being a great training medium that it is, YouTube offers a variety of tutorials on understanding the usage of big data and learning programming codes under one roof. However, you need to confirm the credibility of the person or the resource putting the tutorial together on the website. Once you are confident of their credentials, you can go ahead with the opted course on YouTube. In addition, you can search for dedicated courses on YouTube. Keep in mind that even if it is a free tutorial, you should go about learning only if you are convinced that the instructor is an authentic and well-informed data expert. You can search for memberships with recognized data companies like IBM, Cloudera, Microsoft Hortonworks, etc.

6. Coursera Video Lectures
Coursera offers their video tutorials and lots of learning exercises for free; however, you have to pay to obtain a certification. These programs are designed with leading universities such as Stanford University, the University of California in San Diego, Duke University, etc. These are great entry-level programs for people who are hedging their bets about taking up a course in data disciplines.

7. Coreservlets Classes and Courses
Coreservlets are tutorials developed to offer various online programs for free. You can choose from different programs, including Java programming, Hadoop, etc.

8. MapR Online Training Programs
Those who are familiar with the Big Data world already know about MapR. They offer on request video lectures and practical exercises on Hadoop system. If you are aspiring to complete some certifications, you can choose from Data Analyst or Hadoop Administrator, courses that cover a range of subjects including HBase, Hive, Spark, MapR Streams, and Drill.

9. DeZyre Courses
This is a paid learning resource that offers lots of free training tutorials to help kick-start your career in Hadoop administration. The free tutorials are available online on request and you don’t even need to create an account on the website to avail the tutorial. However, by paying a specified fee, you can procure their finest training that is created by industry specialists and get guidance from your mentor.

10. Hadoop Online Tutorials
The website featuring Hadoop online classes offers numerous paid and free courses.

The online courses allow learners to take up learning at their time and pace without having to take a break from work to attend tutorials. You can provide courses for your employees and give them time to write their assignments. These free resources can sharpen Hadoop skills of your employees without costing a bomb.