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                                                                    EXHIBIT 23.7

                [Letterhead of Craig-Hallum Capital Group, Inc.]





Board of Directors
ShowCase Corporation
4115 Highway 52 North
Rochester, MN  55901-0144

Members of the Board:

               We hereby consent to the inclusion of our opinion letter dated
November 6, 2000, addressed to the Board of Directors of ShowCase Corporation
("ShowCase") and attached as Annex D to the joint proxy statement/prospectus on
Form S-4 reviewed by us, relating to the proposed merger between Showcase and a
wholly owned subsidiary of SPSS Inc., and to the references therein to our firm
and to our opinion under the headings "Summary--Opinions of Financial Advisors
To Showcase," "The Proposed Merger--Background of the Merger," "The Proposed
Merger--ShowCase's Reasons for the Merger," and "Opinions of Showcase's
Financial Advisors." Our opinion letter is addressed to solely to ShowCase's
board of directors. In giving such consent, we do not admit that we come within
the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the
Securities and Exchange Commission promulgated thereunder, nor do we thereby
admit that we are experts with respect to any part of such Registration
Statement within the meaning of the term "experts" as used in the Securities Act
of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange
Commission promulgated thereunder.


                                        Very truly yours,

                                        /s/ CRAIG-HALLUM CAPITAL GROUP, INC.