BOSTON -- Two prestigious, academically connected Boston-area research groups announced expansions in their information technology programs for corporations.
Forrester Research of Cambridge, Mass., introduced "The Forrester Report: People and Technology," a research program to analyze the impact of new technologies on consumers.
Forrester, which had previously focused only on technology's effects on large corporations, will explore changes in the areas of shopping, personal finance, entertainment, news, and voting. The electronic media to be covered include personal computers, on-line services, CD-ROM, and interactive TV.
Meanwhile, Boston-based Nolan, Norton & Co. announced three senior appointments that reflect an expansion in its technology consulting programs.
'Wealth of Experience'
William B. Quinn was named director and Paul J. Muller senior manager in Nolan Norton's Chicago office. J. Tracey Mackle was named senior manager in the New York office.
Mr. Quinn, with more than 18 years in information technology consulting was previously a partner in CSC Consulting. Mr. Muller, formerly of Ernst & Young, has more than 15 years of business process reengineering and change management experience in several markets, including financial services. Mr. Mackle has more than 30 years of experience, most recently with Real Decisions Corp.
"Their wealth of experience will benefit our clients as they manage and plan for an increasingly complex information technology landscape," said John P. Halloran, managing partner of Noland Norton's U.S. operations.
Forrester is assigning two of its multimedia-technology experts, William M. Bluestein and Mary A. Modahl, to its people and technology program.
Led Computing Strategy Arm
Mr. Bluestein directed the computing strategy service, looking into the impact of "social computing" - hand-held computers, interactive TV, and intelligent phones - on large companies. Ms. Modahl was head of the network strategy service and more recently has focused on the development of interactive TV and on-line services.
Forrester president George Colony said he expects to break new ground in the study of how "new interactive technologies will change the lives of ordinary people."
"We were the first to examine client-server computing and we now believe that we are on the threshold of far-reaching changes in consumer life that will result from an avalanche of new technologies," he said.
