Andreas Schroeder

Andreas’s research and teaching interests lie in the systems and strategies needed to help businesses grow through the use of information technology (IT). He began his career as a project manager for process engineering in the chemical industry in Germany. His work led him to be involved in the design and specification of IT systems for business processes, and he decided to pursue the topic to study a Masters Degree and PhD in Wellington, New Zealand.

Andreas’s research specialties have focused on understanding how businesses select and acquire the IT systems they need, and then how to integrate them into the business to get the most value from them. He has taught undergraduate and postgraduate modules on e-commerce, databases, business management and the global management of IT at City University in Hong Kong, The Open University and the University of Buckingham.

He is a core member of the Advanced Service Group (ASG), a centre of excellence in research and practice on servitization and advanced services. At ASG he leads the research on the role and value of data in the context of advanced services. Servitized products are largely part of the ‘Internet of Things’ and manufacturers and customers co-create data when products are used. For manufacturers this data has strategic value when aggregated, allowing them to better understand their market, their customer needs and their service provision, and refine their business models. Capturing and interpreting the ‘in-use’ data gives the manufacturer significant competitive advantage and helps to secure future business with the customer; many businesses are yet to capture the full value of this innovation.