[R] how do i persuade IT to install R on PCs ?? ...and should I ??

[Ben Bolker]

frenchcr <frenchcr <at> btinternet.com> writes:

> 
> 
> Please help me persuade IT to install R on my computer!
> 
> All suggestions welcome.
> 
> Our IT department run scared when you mention software that they have no
> working experience of.
> 
> I need to know the pros and cons of having R on corporate desktops.
> 
> Please no funny stuff, this is quite a serious issue for us.
> 
> Pros and cons would be good.
> 
> Thanks.

  You can probably expect to get some "funny stuff" along with
any useful advice you do get.

  It is almost impossible to answer this question without
knowing what you want to use R for!

  You could tell your IT department that R is easy to install
and well-behaved (i.e. it is self-contained and doesn't do
nasty things to system libraries etc.), that it doesn't "phone
home" or need to talk to servers outside your environment
(unless you program it to, or unless you try to download &
install additional packages), that it is used by a very wide
range of reputable companies (see a variety of discussions on
this list, or see http://www.r-project.org/foundation/memberlist.html ),
... but the most important thing should presumably be whether
it helps you do your job ...  The license is unrestrictive,
unless you want to redistribute a modified version, in which
case it requires you to provide source code and allow 
redistribution ...

  Cons: like any software, it takes time and space to
install (although not very much).  R develops rapidly
and there is little support for "obsolete" versions. 
The software comes without support, but you can pay for 
third-party support.