I write as the owner of a small IT consultancy for systems administration. We own Visual Studio 2008 Team Suite and thought it might draw independent developers so that we can offer additional services.

We now find that a significant number of developers are using 'Subversion' the free developer product. Our concern is that this expensive package might not draw capable and experienced developers. Presently looking for informed opinions on whether the Visual Studio package is something developers value as multiplier of productivity.

We also look to broaden the pool of candidates in the Washington, D.C. Metro area with skills and a track record in any of the VS platform editions... Architecture, Developer, Database, Testing, Web and Mobile. Any guidance on connecting to the independent pro community is greatly appreciated.

I personally find most devs use Visual Studio Pro and Subversion.

I agree with jbennet.

Much thanks for the reply. There was more to the question in that I am having difficulty finding local independent talent. I am aware of but not interested in the 'code monkey' websites. I have been to the local universities and can find no developers in any discipline. In Washington, DC there must be talent not obligated by full time employment. Still looking for a path to connect to.

Seeing how you are posting in a programming forum on a website this could easily be considered a code monkey website. I hope you didn't care about offending people

My text came out of my queries through a number of developer sites. I never heard the term until I posted questions on sites such as code project where I first heard it from a site moderator.

I do care about offending others as I post to this site frequently and get timely and informed replies such as your own. Not sure how to proceed from here but I still would seek guidance on how to connect to the independent developers in the Washington, D.C. area.

If you're wanting to hire someone why not post a job opening and have them contact you? It may be hard to weed through who is a talented developer versus someone who just knows how to talk their way through an interview. I imagine it is probably difficult to hire a developer without having one on payroll to conduct the interviews.