About Forrester
Forrester Research, Inc. is an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology.

Andy is a member of Forrester's Business Technology Futures team, which serves CIOs and their business partners by predicting the long-term business impact of information technology. His research focus is on smart computing and analytics and tech-driven business transformation, analyzing the shifting economics of the industry, including spending, budgeting, and the influence of macroeconomic trends.
He also researches the growing customization of IT systems for industry-specific applications, especially in the utilities, energy, and professional services sectors. He is also a thought leader in the sourcing and procurement technology markets.
Andy has extensive experience in the technology market and in strategic planning, both as an analyst and a practitioner in the business world. He came to Forrester through its acquisition of Giga Information Group in 2003, where he had worked as a vice president and research leader since 1998. Prior to joining Giga, Andy held a variety of vice president positions at American Express in the chairman's office, technologies, strategic planning, and re-engineering. Before joining American Express, Andy worked as an economist, writer, and editor for various organizations, including Shearson Lehman Brothers; the US House of Representatives' Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs; and the Council on Wage and Price Stability in the Executive Office of the President.
Andy has been a regular participant in Forrester's IT Forum conferences, delivering keynote addresses in 2006 and 2007 with colleagues on the future of software. He has also been a recurring presenter at Conference Board conferences on eProcurement and eSourcing. He has been quoted in leading business and technology publications, including BusinessWeek, The Economist, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
Andy earned a B.A. in philosophy from Haverford College and a Ph.D. in history from Johns Hopkins University.
Some of you may not be aware that Forrester manages a market research online community (MROC) comprising 1,500 US online consumers recruited from our quantitative Consumer Technographics®...
Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report, February 2012
The economic recession has turned consumers into savvy bargain hunters. Now more than ever, they are on the lookout for the best deals and lowest prices they can find. Forrester conducted qualitative...
Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report, May 2012
Pleasing consumers is becoming increasingly difficult, and the experiences encountered while buying a product can make or break a brand’s reputation with its consumers. One bad experience can...
Forrester Technographics® Digital Consumer Community Report, September 2012
In the age of the always addressable customer, where hyperconnected consumers are increasingly savvy and demanding of the brands with which they interact, marketers must become more audience-centric...

Market research online communities (MROCs) are an increasingly popular qualitative research method. They allow market insights professionals to engage with consumers via a number of different...

As the newest addition to the Market Insights team, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Lindsey Colella, and I recently joined Forrester as a Senior Community Manager. It is a pleasure to...
This week there was a lot of discussion about panel quality and engagement after a respondent panel at CASRO. Part of the discussion was around incentives. Throughout my tenure in qualitative...
Could you share some best practices for managing a community?
I have to share something with you — I’m upset. Why? Because many clients have no idea of the value of good, solid qualitative research, nor the investments needed. Recently, I was...
Seven Best Practices For Successfully Using A Market Research Online Community For Behavioral Tracking
Several market research online community (MROC) providers and client-side researchers are pushing the envelope with their communities and panels, using them as a platform for testing emerging...
The analogy I always use to talk about qualitative research is that it’s the illustration to the quantitative story. What my own analogy assumes is that qualitative data on its own is an...
Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report, February 2012
Pleasing consumers is becoming increasingly difficult, and the experiences encountered while buying a product can make or break a brand’s reputation with its consumers. One bad experience can...
I’ve always been an advocate of storytelling when it comes to qualitative research, as per my blog post a few months ago. Often, this means multiple slides including in-depth explanations,...
Forrester Technographics® Digital Consumer Community Report, June 2012
Almost everyone has a social media account these days. However, consumers are only just starting to use interactive features like checking in, and exchanges with brands via social media are still...

We do almost everything online these days, so why not research? I’m often surprised when I find others hesitant to conduct research online, but now and then I run into the occasional person who...
Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report, December 2011
Aside from placing phone calls, the majority of mobile phone owners also text and take photos or videos with their phones. More advanced functions, such as using apps, accessing emails, and using the...
Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report
Tracking and managing personal health information — with technology or without — is not a mainstream consumer activity today. There are multiple reasons for this: Consumers lack...
In a new report out today, my colleague Sarah Rotman Epps writes about the emerging but limited market for fitness wearables like the Nike+ FuelBand and the Jawbone UP. The report finds that...
Talking to someone you have nothing in common with isn’t fun, and this is even more true when you are online. This is something you need to take to heart when you’re thinking of launching...
A Forrester Technographics Digital Consumer Community Report
In recent years, we have seen a continued increase in online shopping around the holidays. Forrester's US Online Holiday Retail Forecast, 2012 again showed an increase in consumer spending; online...