Apple’s Joint Venture Designed Specifically for Small Businesses
Here is some pretty awesome news that you might not have heard about in the midst of all the iPad 2 hysteria that recently took place. Apple, amidst the reveal of the iPad 2, debuted a new program that is targeted at small businesses. Apple is calling it Joint Venture and the program will offer specialized support as well as personal training, loaner Macs and other business-specific services at a price that is fairly comparable to Apple’s current ProCare Plan.
Now you may be asking yourself, “How is ProCare’s $99 price plan in any way comparable to Joint Venture’s $499 price?” Well, just read the fine print. Unlike the single-client ProCare plan, Joint Venture offers support for up to five systems with the ability to add additional options for $99 a year. Each eligible system can include a Mac, two cinema Displays, one iPhone, one iPod, one iPad and Apple peripherals including a mouse, keyboard, trackpad and a storage device. The plan has a limit of 100 systems so it caters to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses.
Your price includes Apple Business Team techs that will help set up your Macs, iPads and iPhones, transfer data from existing PCs and install additional software purchased through Apple. Employers are also able to schedule as many as three two-hour training sessions per year at any Apple store that can help you in a number of topics like using your new iPad in a business setting or getting the most out of a keynote.
Premium support options are also available if you want them. Joint Venture allows customers to bring their Apple products to Apple stores for diagnostic assessments, updates, or even cleanings. If you don’t want to drive out to the store, you can call Apple Geniuses for support help or to check up on your status of a repair. If an unfortunate event occurs and your device does need to be shipped to the store fore repairs, then you can request a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air preloaded with Microsoft Office.
Joint Venture is just one part of a number of significant business moves by Apple. Apple discontinued Xserve last November and also announced that the server features of Mac OS X Lion will be incorporated into a single-client version. Macs, iPhones and iPads are making some serious waves in the business world so it makes sense for Apple to help small and medium-sized businesses integrate new Apple products into their environments.
Source: PC Mag – Apple Gives Small Businesses a Big Hug with Joint Venture