The business analyst serves as a bridge between the IT organization and the users it serves, and it can be a challenging position for IT managers to fill. The requisite combination of qualifications-technical knowledge, business perspective, and interpersonal skills-is difficult to find in a single individual. Yet business analysts represent a rising element within the IT staff as organizations automate or outsource routine work and focus internal staff on delivering business value. Our Business analysts gather user requirements, define business processes, and help design solutions using information systems. Customer relationship personnel serve as a liaison between users and IT, represent the user community to the IT group, and ensure that IT systems are used effectively by the organization. These IT personnel are often the contact point when systems and services are outsourced to a third-party developer or maintenance organization.