1) Microsoft is using R internally, and what is more, they are going all out for R: it has already announced that MS SQL database’s next version will have R built in. Test release is scheduled for September. It has acquired Revolution Analytics. Microsoft is also funding R development through the R Consortium announced 4 days ago, under the umbrella of the Linux Foundation.
2) There are rumors that some future version of Excel will have R built in!
3) R is being now accepted in the financial and commercial world and is quickly replacing SAS.
4) Just a single company called Teradata has more than 400 open vacancies for employees with R experience.
5) Hewllet Packard is releasing its own version of distributed R as open-source software.
6) Next UseR! meeting will be at Standford University and the organizing committee includes members both from Microsoft and Google.
I think it is time for our department and the whole university to stop teaching SPSS to our undergrads and switch to R as our main statistical software.