Deleting a backup and creating a new one?

I have an encrypted backup of my iPhone on my computer and I forgot the password (arg). I've tried everything I can think of to no avail. I just got my iPhone from my company a few days ago and as I understand it, it's set up with various security features, etc. (So normally I'd just wipe it and start over but I don't want to tick off my IT guys.)

My question is, can I delete the backup that exists, and just create a new one with a new password? As I see it, the purpose of encrypting the backup is so that no one can RESTORE the data without permission. But what if I just delete it and create a NEW backup? Would this let me "start over"?

Relatedly: if that doesn't work, and I have to restore as a new device, is there a way to get back, not to my factory settings, but to the way I got the phone from my IT guys, i.e., with the various apps and stuff that they had loaded?