Lauren Nelson is a vice president and research director at Forrester, where she leads Forrester’s Technology Architecture & Delivery service and manages the firm’s cloud and infrastructure research portfolio and analysts. In this role, Lauren sets research direction, oversees analyst coverage and quality, and works closely with clients to help them navigate foundational technology decisions that shape long‑term business outcomes.

Before moving into research leadership, Lauren spent more than a decade as one of Forrester’s lead cloud analysts, covering cloud strategy from its earliest enterprise adoption through today’s AI‑ and platform‑driven architectures. She has advised hundreds of organizations, including many Fortune 1000 companies, on cloud and broader technology strategies spanning migration, modernization, governance, and operating model change. Lauren is widely recognized as a leading authority on cloud strategy and has been frequently quoted and featured in major business and technology media, including The Washington Post, WSJ, Computer Weekly, CIO Dive, and TechTarget, for her perspectives on the evolution of cloud and infrastructure.

Lauren’s areas of expertise include cloud strategy and management, private and hybrid cloud, open-source strategy, cloud migration and portability, industry cloud, and the organizational and operating model changes required to scale modern technology platforms.ysts. She is widely regarded as a top thought leader in cloud. Lauren's specialties are cloud management, private cloud, open source strategy, cloud migration, portability, government cloud, and diversity and inclusivity (D&I) programs.