# Forte Systems, Inc.

> Forte Systems is a San Francisco Bay Area managed IT services and cybersecurity provider headquartered in Walnut Creek, California, serving small businesses and mid-size enterprises for 30+ years. It provides fully managed and co-managed IT, managed security across 28 security domains (branded Forte Managed IT), network and Wi-Fi infrastructure, Microsoft 365 and data center engineering. Help desk and support capacity is extended through its affiliate LMJ Consulting in Anchorage, Alaska. Forte serves US organizations only and does not support Apple devices.

Contact: 510-854-5920, info@forte-systems.com. Headquarters: 1501 N Broadway, Walnut Creek, CA 94596.
Technology stack: Microsoft 365, Cisco Meraki, SentinelOne, N-able, Kaseya, 1Password, CyberFox, Synthreo.

## Services
- [Managed IT Services](https://www.forte-systems.com/managed-services-outsourced-it-staffing): flat-fee monitoring, help desk, on-site support, patching, backup, managed networking; fully managed or co-managed; project engineers and staff augmentation
- [Managed Security](https://www.forte-systems.com/managed-security): 28 security domains across govern, prevent, detect and recover, including EDR, MFA, email security, 24/7 SOC/SIEM, vCISO and incident response
- [Small Business IT](https://www.forte-systems.com/smb-solutions)
- [Mid-Size Enterprise IT Consulting](https://www.forte-systems.com/it-consulting)
- [Our Methodology](https://www.forte-systems.com/methodology): assess, plan, deploy and onboard, validate and hand off, manage and monitor, review and improve
- [Network infrastructure](https://www.forte-systems.com/network-infrastructure): Network design, routing, switching, firewalls, SD-WAN and Wi-Fi for Bay Area businesses — designed, deployed and managed by Forte Systems.
- [Managed Wi-Fi](https://www.forte-systems.com/network-infrastructure/wireless): Cloud-managed business Wi-Fi from Forte Systems: site surveys, Cisco Meraki access points, guest networks and 24×7 monitoring for Bay Area offices.
- [Data center & virtualization](https://www.forte-systems.com/network-infrastructure/data-center): Server virtualization (VMware and Hyper-V), SAN/NAS storage, server refreshes and hybrid cloud for Bay Area businesses from Forte Systems.
- [Microsoft 365](https://www.forte-systems.com/other-solutions/microsoft-office-365): Microsoft 365 migration, administration, security and Intune device management for Bay Area businesses from Forte Systems.
- [SaaS backup](https://www.forte-systems.com/it-consulting/o365-saas-cloud-backup): Cloud-to-cloud backup for Microsoft 365, Google Workspace and Salesforce: daily backups, long retention and fast restores from Forte Systems.
- [Compliance](https://www.forte-systems.com/trends/compliance_management): IT security compliance for regulated Bay Area businesses: HIPAA, PCI, CMMC and SOX controls, policies and audit-ready evidence from Forte Systems.
- [Cyber insurance](https://www.forte-systems.com/cyber-insurance-for-your-business): Meet cyber insurance requirements: MFA, EDR, immutable backup, training and the evidence underwriters ask for. Forte Systems gets you insurable.
- [Identity & access](https://www.forte-systems.com/trends/identity-management): Identity and access management for Bay Area businesses: MFA, conditional access, privileged access management and password management from Forte Systems.

## Free tools
- [Email Security Check](https://www.forte-systems.com/tools/email-security-check): instant grade for a domain's SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX records, with fixes
- [Cyber Insurance Readiness Check](https://www.forte-systems.com/tools/cyber-insurance-check): 20 questions phrased the way carriers ask them, readiness score and a PDF with suggested answers

## Areas served
- [Walnut Creek, Lafayette & Orinda](https://www.forte-systems.com/walnut-creek-it-consulting)
- [Concord & Pleasant Hill](https://www.forte-systems.com/concord-it-consulting)
- [San Ramon & Dublin](https://www.forte-systems.com/san-ramon-it-consulting)
- [Pleasanton & Livermore](https://www.forte-systems.com/pleasanton-it-consulting)
- [Livermore](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-livermore)
- [Hayward & San Leandro](https://www.forte-systems.com/hayward-it-consulting)
- [San Leandro](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-san-leandro)
- [Oakland & Alameda](https://www.forte-systems.com/oakland-it-consulting)
- [Alameda](https://www.forte-systems.com/it-consulting-for-alameda-for-30-years)
- [Berkeley & Emeryville](https://www.forte-systems.com/berkeley-it-consulting)
- [Emeryville](https://www.forte-systems.com/emeryville-it-consulting-and-it-support)
- [Richmond](https://www.forte-systems.com/richmond-it-consulting-and-it-support)
- [Fremont & Milpitas](https://www.forte-systems.com/fremont-it-consulting)
- [Milpitas](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-milpitas)
- [San Jose & Santa Clara](https://www.forte-systems.com/san-jose-it-consulting)
- [Mountain View, Sunnyvale & Cupertino](https://www.forte-systems.com/mountain-view-it-consulting)
- [Sunnyvale](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-sunnyvale)
- [Santa Cruz & Monterey](https://www.forte-systems.com/santa-cruz-it-consulting)
- [San Francisco](https://www.forte-systems.com/san-francisco-it-consulting)
- [San Mateo, Burlingame & Half Moon Bay](https://www.forte-systems.com/san-mateo-it-consulting)
- [Foster City](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-foster-city)
- [Redwood City](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-redwood-city)
- [Palo Alto & Menlo Park](https://www.forte-systems.com/palo-alto-it-consulting)
- [Menlo Park](https://www.forte-systems.com/microsoft-cisco-vmware-it-consulting-for-menlo-park)
- [Marin, San Rafael & Novato](https://www.forte-systems.com/marin-it-consulting)
- [Napa, Santa Rosa & Petaluma](https://www.forte-systems.com/napa-it-consulting)

## Articles
- [VMware’s Price Revolution: How Broadcom’s Changes Are Reshaping Mid-Market IT Strategy](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/vmwares-price-revolution-how-broadcoms-changes-are-reshaping-mid-market-it-strategy) (2025-07-01): Broadcom’s licensing changes have sharply raised VMware costs for many customers. The options mid-market IT teams are weighing.
- [Portable ISP in a Box!](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/portable-isp-in-a-box) (2025-02-18): A portable internet connection for events, temporary sites and branch offices that need to be online fast.
- [Microsoft 365 Backup for My Business?](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/do-i-need-to-backup-microsoft-office-365-for-my-business) (2024-03-08): Why Microsoft’s built-in retention is not a backup, and what an independent Microsoft 365 backup protects you from.
- [Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI): Adding Security to Your Organization](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/virtual-desktop-infrastructure-vdi-adding-security-to-your-organization) (2024-02-19): The security and management benefits of virtual desktops, and when VDI is the right fit.
- [What the Heck Is DKIM and DMARC?](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/what-the-heck-is-dkim-and-dmarc-and-does-my-company-need-it) (2022-10-10): A plain-English explanation of SPF, DKIM and DMARC, and why your domain needs them to stop spoofing and reach inboxes.
- [How to Secure Your Off-Site Veeam Backups Against Ransomware](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/how-to-secure-your-off-site-veeam-backups-against-ransomware) (2022-02-10): Steps to keep off-site backups out of an attacker’s reach, including immutability and separate credentials.
- [Microsoft NCE (New Commerce Experience) and How It Will Impact Your Organization](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/microsoft-nce-new-commerce-experience-and-how-it-will-impact-your-organization) (2022-01-04): How Microsoft’s New Commerce Experience changed license terms, pricing and flexibility — and how to plan around it.
- [Cyber Security Insurance and Requirements](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/cyber-security-insurance-and-requirements) (2021-12-29): What cyber insurers require before they will quote, and how to meet those requirements.
- [Ransomware and the Impact to Your Business](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/ransomware-and-the-impact-to-your-business) (2020-12-30): What a ransomware attack really costs a business, and the layers of defense that limit the damage.
- [Cyber Security Training Can Save the Day](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/cyber-security-training-can-save-the-day) (2020-08-12): Why trained employees are one of the most effective defenses against phishing and fraud.
- [Why Your Company Needs a Network and Infrastructure Assessment](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/why-your-company-needs-to-have-a-network-and-infrastructure-assessment) (2020-06-03): What an assessment uncovers — bottlenecks, single points of failure and security gaps — and why it pays for itself.
- [Backup Versus Business Continuity](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/backup-versus-business-continuity) (2017-03-09): Having backups is not the same as staying in business. The difference between backup and business continuity.
- [Best Practices for Data Replication Between Data Centers](https://www.forte-systems.com/blog/best-practices-data-replication-data-centers) (2014-05-27): Approaches to replicating data between sites for disaster recovery, and the trade-offs of each.

## Company
- [About](https://www.forte-systems.com/about-us)
- [Customer testimonials](https://www.forte-systems.com/about-us/customer-testimonials)
- [Contact](https://www.forte-systems.com/contact)
- [Privacy policy](https://www.forte-systems.com/privacy-policy)
- [Master Services Agreement (PDF)](https://www.forte-systems.com/legal/Forte-Systems-MSA.pdf)