Shield Technology Partners (“Shield”) today introduced Forge, its frontier AI operating system for IT services. The company also announced its 20th partnership with Miami-based Nerds Support. Shield’s providers now collectively serve over 3,750 businesses nationwide.

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Introducing Forge, Our AI Operating System for IT Services.

Introducing Forge, Our AI Operating System for IT Services.

“AI should raise the standard of IT for every business,” said Jim Siders, Chief Executive Officer of Shield. “Small and midsized companies deserve powerful technology and an IT partner who helps them plan for what’s next. Regional providers know the customer’s business and what’s holding it back. We built Forge with them so their teams can resolve problems faster and help customers make better decisions about their technology.”

Forge gives IT teams more capacity to serve customers and help businesses plan ahead. The platform resolves half of all actionable helpdesk tickets. Of those resolutions, 92% involve neither human approval nor logged technician time. Customers are seeing faster resolution of IT issues. For comparable ticket types, Forge-resolved tickets close 25 times as fast as technician-resolved tickets, with a median resolution time of 16 minutes. For tickets handled by technicians, Forge provides detailed context and recommended next steps to support resolution. Account teams using AI Account Manager are engaging 10% more customers than in July.

Forge currently powers agentic service delivery, account strategy and project execution, and allows teams to build custom automations:

  • Helpdesk: An AI Engineer handles tickets from intake to close, resolving eligible work autonomously and handing off to technicians when judgment is needed.
  • Account Strategy: An AI Account Manager uses service history, open opportunities and account risks to anticipate customer needs and support them more effectively.
  • Projects: An AI Project Engineer supports the full project lifecycle from scoping through completion, with clear human approvals.
  • Build with Forge: Teams can create custom skills, agents, and runbooks that automate recurring work to address problems before they become tickets.

At one of Shield’s providers, Forge unlocked an estimated 25% more client capacity with the current team. At another, technicians are spending roughly 70% less time on ticket resolution and putting those hours toward proactive account-strategy work.

Forge draws on the firsthand experience of technicians and operators at Shield’s companies. Each new partner, including Nerds Support, contributes expertise that helps improve the platform and benefits from capabilities shaped by others. As Shield grows, this shared learning loop makes Forge more useful for every provider.

Managed IT provider Nerds Support was founded by Scott Richman in Miami in 2004. The company provides managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud, and communications services to small and midsized businesses, with deep experience serving accounting, law, and wealth management firms. Shield was drawn to the company because of its strong team and knowledge of compliance-driven industries. Scott will continue leading the company, with the added support of Shield’s engineering and operating resources.

“Great IT starts with a deep understanding of your customers,” said Scott. “Shield will help us anticipate customer needs and act on them more effectively. Their engineering expertise and broader support will allow us to accelerate growth while preserving the culture and customer trust we built over 20 years.”

Forge is available through a Shield partnership, with deployment tailored to each provider’s operating needs. Learn more about Forge and Shield’s approach to partnering with firms like Nerds Support.

About Shield

Shield Technology Partners is a national IT services platform that helps founder-led providers enhance what they can deliver to customers. Shield provides engineering talent, operational support, and long-term capital so its companies can build stronger businesses while preserving local leadership and culture. Shield is backed by Thrive Holdings and ZBS Partners. The company is headquartered in Tampa, Florida.

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