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5.0
4 reviews

Forte Group is a full-service software solutions and managed services resource for businesses seeking exceptional engineering talent and extraordinary software. We work with IT enterprises, business leaders, and technology companies to accelerate and evolve applications that consistently achieve valuable business outcomes. 

We’re headquartered in Chicago, with delivery offices in Belarus and Ukraine. 

 
Undisclosed
 
$50 - $99 / hr
 
250 - 999
 Founded
2000
Show all +
Chicago, IL
headquarters
other locations
  • 33 Zheleznodorozhnaya St., Office 809
    Minsk, MI 220089
    Belarus
  • 32 Zhyvova St.
    Ternopil', TE 46000
    Ukraine

Portfolio

Key clients: 
BMO Harris Bank Serta Simmons Bedding CNH Industrial Verizon Redbox Kohls DocuSign kCura / Relativity Sphera Insureon GPShopper Follett Edgeworx Swift IQ Lawyer Exchange
Pre-Launch Testing for a Large E-Commerce Store Image

Pre-Launch Testing for a Large E-Commerce Store

BACKGROUND
Serta Simmons Bedding is North America’s largest bedding manufacturer, the company behind the Serta® and Simmons® Beautyrest® brands. The company was funded in 1870s and now employs more than 6,000 people across the US and has 39 manufacturing plants.
www.tomorrowsleep.com

OBJECTIVE
Being an industry leader in B2B segment, Serta

…
Simmons Bedding wanted to expand into B2C market and launch an online store. They needed an experienced partner who could complete a range of pre-launch testing services to ensure flawless website performance.
 

MANUAL FUNCTIONAL TESTING

We tested each slice of functionality of the whole system to make sure it works correctly against the requirements. This approach includes testing of assorted data sets as well as usability testing.

AUTOMATED PERFORMANCE TESTING
Within this testing we were constantly and steadily increasing the load to exclude all possible defects related to buffer overflow, memory leaks and mismanagement of memory.

SUMMARY
We performed all the testings needed to make sure that Tomorrow Sleep works as expected and can deal with high loads. oday the company offers its clients a vide range of innovative sleep products at a click of a button

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MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT With Core API Engine Image

MOBILE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT With Core API Engine

BACKGROUND

My Personal best is an integrated sports tracker application for personalized data analysis, goal tracking and sports planning. Our client is a sports enthusiast, who had this idea in mind for several years and finally chose Forte Group to build the custom solution from scratch.
 

OBJECTIVE

With his extensive experience in predictive analytics, data

…
science and information technology, the client was looking for an iOS app and web interface, which could be used by athletes of all levels. Our major challenge was ensuring that the huge amount of data in the app stayed manageable for the end user, without compromising on its functionality.

CUSTOM API ENGINE — FITNESS FORECAST

We built an API engine specifically for this application to quickly process large amount of data, easily access to it and even upload pre-existing performance metrics in tcx, .gpx or .fit formats.

USER-FRIENDLY ARCHITECTURE AND INTERFACE

Since one of our primary goals was to design an application that would be easy to navigate, the whole group of information architects and UI and UX designers were involved to ensure the end user will get the best possible experience.

RESULTS

The app is widely used among professional athletes and sports enthusiasts, encouraging them to reach new goals and maintain the regime.
 

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BUILDING A TWO-SIDED MARKETPLACE FOR LEGAL SERVICES Image

BUILDING A TWO-SIDED MARKETPLACE FOR LEGAL SERVICES

Background: Lawyer Exchange platform gives experienced lawyers an opportunity to find the help they need in handling their overflow or out-of-town legal work by hiring emerging lawyers, who are looking for legal experience and valuable mentoring.

Objective: Having comprehensive experience in legal practice, our Client wanted to create a unique marketplace for lawyers — an on-demand

…
platform that connects experienced hiring lawyers with emerging lawyers on project basis and builds a community of legal support throughout the United States. 

Agile user stories approach. We created a highly detailed documentation describing over 100 possible use cases. This approach allowed us to identify the core set of features required to build the first MVP and will be instrumental in prioritizing future development.

Features

  • User Dashboard. Administrative staff can easily activate and deactivate users, verify licenses and view profiles.
  • Set Proposals Limit. Hiring Lawyers will never get overwhelmed with numerous proposals.
  • Generate Invoice / Process Invoice Payment. Safe two-sided money transactions.
  • View Proposals History. Both Hiring and Project lawyers can see browse their proposals history and messaging.
  • Request a Referral. Project lawyers can improve their visibility chances of acquiring meaningful legal work.
Read more...

Reviews

5.0
4 reviews
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E-Commerce Platform Enhancement for Home Decor Retailer

"Everyone at Forte is a pleasure to work with."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
4.5
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Jan. 2016 - June 2018
Project summary: 

Forte Group spearheaded an e-commerce expansion, building features that personalized the customer experience. They also linked the site to an existing CRM platform.

The Reviewer
 
51-200 Employees
 
Chicago, Illinois
CTO, Home Decor Retailer
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The team successfully delivered the streamlined system, enabling product information to be distributed to external e-comm channels. Communication was very effective, as they easily collaborated with the internal team.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

The company is a manufacturer and a B2B and B2C seller of home decor, in particular art reproductions on canvas and paper.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Forte Group?

Our ecommerce platform expansion

What were your goals for this project?

We needed to expand our marketplace to its full potential from a technology stand point.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

We have considered many vendors but ultimately decided that Forte was the best fit.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Forte Group’s development team first implemented a distributed, RESTful search and analytics engine with Elastic Stack, which improved the performance of our website by adding a search and filter option that let customers browse our products. They also built in several features that enabled users to get personalized discounts, based on user data such as who the user is and how often he/she buys products from us.

The team also linked our CRM platform with all the product pricings to an automated sales tax managing system that’s available in every US state and even in Europe.

What was the team composition?

Up to 10 dedicated experts, developers and QA testers

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

The development team improved our Product Management System to enable faster and smoother product information distribution to our external eCommerce channels.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

Very effective.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Everyone at Forte is a pleasure to work with. But, in particular, there are two MVPs - the account executive and the tech lead - that made this project run very smooth and deliver results that exceeded our expectations.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. Forte’s team worked very well with our internal project team.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 4.5 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

Custom Software Dev for Legal Project Platform

"Not only did we get what we expected, but they also brought things to our attention that we hadn’t even thought of."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$50,000 to $199,999
 
Apr. - Nov. 2017
Project summary: 

Forte Group built a scalable, user-friendly application as an MVP for a legal skill-sharing platform. They used microservices, payment integration, and rating features among other functionalities.

The Reviewer
 
1-10 Employees
 
Chicago, Illinois
Robert C. Meltzer
CEO, Lawyer Exchange
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The platform has launched and can incorporate new tools and functionalities as needed. Forte Group delivered a high-quality development product within a short period and at excellent value. Their timeliness, proactiveness, and ability to meet promises made for a close-knit collaboration.

The client submitted this review online.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I’m the CEO and Founder of Lawyer Exchange, a platform that provides access to meaningful project work and opportunities for mentoring to emerging lawyers from experienced lawyers. Conversely, it assists experienced lawyers who are looking for both help with their projects and to identify other lawyers willing and able to manage some or all of the practices they have built. Over time, both parties will be able to build relationships for employment, partnership, and possible acquisition or succession.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Forte Group?

Lawyers need help finding work; small law firms need better ways to quickly hire vetted legal talent. We needed a technology partner to build a platform to help law firms scale while creating career opportunities for lawyers seeking work—all without the hassle or cost of hiring temp or legal staffing agencies. We opted to hire a software delivery partner rather than building an internal development team and found Forte Group to be an ideal fit. The Forte team helped us define and validate how the application would work from a technology standpoint, created a product roadmap, and was able to build a functional minimum viable product, then scale to get the product to market quickly.

What were your goals for this project?

We wanted to build a user-friendly application that would address a hiring challenge in legal services. The idea behind the platform was to create a community where lawyers can go for help and for opportunities. We wanted to build an intuitive, easy-to-use platform that could scale with additional features over time.

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

I didn’t feel like other groups I talked to were going to be as accountable as Forte. I was introduced to Leo (Solutions Manager) and was really impressed with the level of business analysis that Forte was capable of. I knew they were going to be really efficient, and when we started talking about pricing and scope, that’s when it drove it home for me that Forte was the right firm.

Describe the project and the services they provided in detail.

Lawyer Exchange was built using a microservices architecture, which allows the product to scale up and down seamlessly. When building in a microservices architecture, each service is independently deployable and runs as a unique process. When built using separate but tightly coupled modular components, our application is easier to develop, test, maintain, and enhance. We wanted payments integration, review, ratings, and referral features, and a seamless UX/UI for the application.

What was the team composition?

The team was comprised of a solutions manager and product owner, engineers, quality assurance analysts, and business analysts.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any information that demonstrates the impact that this project has had on your business?

We were able to take a business idea and turn it into a working product in just six months. Now, we continue to add tools that make it easier and more attractive for lawyers to come to our community, seeking work and seeking legal help.

How was project management arranged and how effective was it?

I can’t emphasize enough how Forte put their money where their mouth is. They delivered what they said they would deliver, and when. The team went above and beyond. When we called about emergencies or to shift priorities, it was no problem—things always got taken care of within 24 hours.

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Forte feels like a partner. Often, when you have a contractor in any field, you feel like you’re dealing with an enemy. You always struggle with them over what you thought was going to happen versus what’s really happening. The Forte team connects those threads. Not only did we get what we expected, but they also brought things to our attention that we hadn’t even thought of. That has helped to make the entire application even better than what we initially imagined.

Are there any areas for improvement?

No. I’ve been through a lot of builds in my life (probably 20) and no build ever hit the time estimate like Forte did. I’ve got a lot to do and needed a partner that would reliably deliver when they said they would.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

iOS & Android Development for Parking Logistics App

"Forte Group gave us great value for our money."

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5.0

Quality: 
4.5
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
$10,000 to $49,999
 
2015 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Forte Group provided the client with multiple development resources to spearhead the development of an app built natively for iOS and Android.

The Reviewer
 
2-10 Employees
 
Chicago, Illinois
Sergei Kozyrenko
CTO, ParkNav
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client is most pleased with the value of Forte Group's services compared to the cost. What their resources lack in experience is more than compensated for by their talent and proactive approach to problem solving.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

‎ParkNav is a street parking service. I am the chief technology officer of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forte Group?

We needed to find iOS and Android developers.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Forte Group offered development resources. We worked directly with the individual developers on a remote basis. They ranged in number, but we've used up to 2 developers for each platform respectively.

How did you come to work with Forte Group?

I met Forte Group at a tech conference. They had reasonable prices, so we went from there.

How much have you invested with Forte Group?

The cost of Forte Group's services was between $20,000 and $30,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Forte Group 2 years ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Forte Group was our primary developer for most of the iOS and Android work. We were able to release our apps, and we're happy with the results.

How did Forte Group perform from a project management standpoint?

Forte Group's resources became embedded in our existing processes, with the exception that they were remote.

What did you find most impressive about Forte Group?

Overall, Forte Group has a smart team. They were able to understand our requests without a lot of back-and-forths.

Are there any areas Forte Group could improve?

Not specifically. The developers we've used are just out of college, so there's much that they can learn, but they're overall smart people. Forte Group gave us great value for our money.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    Even though Forte Group worked remotely, they seemed to be available around the clock.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
    We received good value.
  • 4.5 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    Forte Group's services were good overall. They're smart people, able to suggest many things that went beyond the required work.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer

QA Staffing for Software Development

"Forte Group has produced some very well-qualified candidates for us."

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5.0

Quality: 
5.0
Schedule: 
5.0
Cost: 
5.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
The Project
 
Confidential
 
Mar. 2016 - Ongoing
Project summary: 

Forte Group supplies the client with quality assurance interns who perform client-work and compete to earn permanent roles at the firm.

The Reviewer
 
11-50 Technologies
 
Chicago Metro Area
Senior Manager, Software Firm
 
Verified
The Review
Feedback summary: 

The client is impressed with the resources provided by Forte Group. Forte Group has been able to deliver well-suited resources on short notice and the client feels a true sense of partnership.

A Clutch analyst personally interviewed this client over the phone. Below is an edited transcript.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are an IT organization providing software solutions to the haircare, cosmetics and beauty industries. I am the director of quality assurance and process implementation for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Forte Group?

Forte Group is currently providing us with internship opportunities. We are presented with the best-and-brightest candidates that can help us establish software quality assurance best practices and finalize our deliverables.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We onboard a large number of interns every 6 weeks, around 6-10 people. So far, Forte Group has done a good job with the provisioning of well-qualified candidates. We have hired at least 2 people in total through this program. We will most likely be hiring at least 2 more before the end of the year.

How did you come to work with Forte Group?

I'd worked with Forte Group in the past, for other firms. The choice was based on my experience with the company.

How much have you invested with Forte Group?

I am not at liberty to disclose that information.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Forte Group 9 months ago.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

On the consultant side, we have been very fortunate to work with our contact from Forte Group. She is knowledgeable, with a good understanding of business processes and market demands of small-to-medium-sized organizations, as well as large ones. I've had experience working with Forte Group during my work for both types of organizations.

Forte Group has produced some very well-qualified candidates for us, who can hit the ground running and, with minimal training can achieve the goals and objectives of our IT organization. I hold high regard for their instructor and training staff.

What did you find most impressive about Forte Group?

Forte Group's team is willing to help and anticipate a substantial amount of organizational needs from our side. They've been acted as a long-term partner, always willing to work with us and offer solutions, rather than take part in the firefighting.

Are there any areas Forte Group could improve?

No, so far so good.

5.0
Overall Score
  • 5.0 Scheduling
    ON TIME / DEADLINES
    We needed someone on an emergency basis, and Forte Group came through within a couple of days.
  • 5.0 Cost
    Value / within estimates
  • 5.0 Quality
    Service & deliverables
    We hired one of Forte Group's consultants for the product delivery side, on a short-term engagement. Due to the level of trust, we hired that individual without going through a formal interview. He did a fantastic job without any micromanagement required.
  • 5.0 NPS
    Willing to refer