In the nine months since Microsoft acquired Revolution Analytics, there have been a steady stream of updates to Revolution R Open and Revolution R Enterprise (not to mention integration of R with SQL Server, PowerBI, Azure and Cortana Analytics). Now, we have yet more updates to announce along with fresh new names. Revolution R Open is now Microsoft R Open with an update coming later this month, and Revolution R Enterprise is now Microsoft R Server, and available for purchase now, or for download free of charge for developers and students.

Revolution R Enterprise, the big-data capable R distribution for servers, Hadoop clusters, and data warehouses has been updated for its new release, Microsoft R Server 2016. In addition to its new name, Microsoft R Server includes an updated R engine (R 3.2.2), new fuzzy matching algorithms, the ability to write to databases via ODBC, and a streamlined install experience. It's now even easier for companies to purchase, via the Microsoft MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and VLSC (Volume License Servicing Center) programs. For developers, Microsoft R Server Developer Edition is now available free of charge via the Visual Studio Dev Essentials program. And the Microsoft DreamSpark program now provides Microsoft R Server free of charge to students, and to academic institutions as part of a discounted software site license.

Microsoft R Server is built on Microsoft R Open, which is the new name for Revolution R Open. As always, Microsoft R Open is free to download, use and share, and is available from MRAN. We're working on the new update to Microsoft R Open featuring R 3.2.3, which will be available on January 19. In the meantime, the updated MRAN has a new color-vision-friendly look, faster R package search available from every page, and a new CRAN Time Machine.

Want to get started with Microsoft R Open or Microsoft R Server? Here are all the links you need:

Read more about the new Microsoft R Open and Microsoft R Server updates in this Microsoft blog post by Joseph Sirosh.