D. in political science at Stanford University in the mid-1960s, Nie became frustrated with the computer-based statistical analysis tools available at the time.

FORBES: The First Data Scientist on the Evolution of Data Science and the Ever-Changing American Voter

The statistical analysis tools of the time were difficult to use, and the leading tool, BMD, was originally developed for bio-medical researchers, not for social scientists.

FORBES: The First Data Scientist on the Evolution of Data Science and the Ever-Changing American Voter

In this new business landscape where many activities take on the characteristics long associated only with financial trading, Revolution Analytics supplies tools for statistical analysis, a critical component of big data sometimes neglected by observers of the big data landscape.

FORBES: Revolution in the Big Data and Business Landscape

First, open source tools for performing statistical analysis, such as R and Python, have robust communities around them.

FORBES: How Data Science is Shaping Social Science