Apple is shutting down its Joint Venture small business program

As reported by 9to5Mac, Apple appears to be shutting down its Joint Venture program designed to provide certain IT support and other functions to small and mid-size businesses.

Apple has begun sending out emails to members of the program, notifying them that the Joint Venture Program will end on February 22, 2021.

The Joint Venture Program will be ending on 22/2/21 11:59 pm PST. You'll continue to have full access to Joint Venture until the program wraps up, and you'll be receiving a refund for any remaining portion of your membership.

In order to provide some gap coverage, Apple is telling businesses to contact their Apple Business Team about AppleCare Help Desk Support, a new service that will provide some of the "most requested features of Joint Venture."

We've also recently added a great business support option, AppleCare Help Desk Support, which features some of the most requested features of Joint Venture, such as priority phone access to our experienced senior technical support staff, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. To learn more about AppleCare Help Desk Support, call your Apple Business Team to get started.

As noted in the report, Apple originally launched Join Venture in 2011 as a way to provide some areas of IT support to small and medium-sized businesses that did not have their own staff.

Apple launched Joint Venture back in 2011 as an IT solution for small and medium-size businesses. The pitch was to help companies "Get Set Up, Get Trained and Stay Running." Essentially Apple was aiming for businesses that didn't need or couldn't afford a dedicated in-house IT staff but were also big enough that they needed more support than the standard Genius Bar and AppleCare options. Joint Venture started at $499 and ran $99 for each additional user and included priority access, loaner devices, advanced support, and more.

The email shared with 9to5Mac is specifically for a program member in Australia, so it is currently unclear if Apple plans to shut the program down internationally. Small businesses who want to learn more about their options with the company can visit Apple's Small Business website.