$500 is a deal. My MSDN membership is a multi-year cost pushing $1K a year. The benefits of pro developer subscriptions have been already mentioned, but I wouldn't expect the small shop to necessarily understand the benefits. When there is high risk or high money involved, it is worth it to be in the program where you get all the updates, can test on all the products, and have access to forums and documentation that otherwise wouldn't be available.
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$500 is a deal. My MSDN membership is a multi-year cost pushing $1K a year. The benefits of pro developer subscriptions have been already mentioned, but I wouldn't expect the small shop to necessarily understand the benefits. When there is high risk or high money involved, it is worth it to be in the program where you get all the updates, can test on all the products, and have access to forums and documentation that otherwise wouldn't be available.