Question

barlowconsul  |   Oct 20 2006  8:50AM GMT

The prior response you received was a good one, for what it is worth I agree. To just throw in an additional thought. The real need, in my opinion, anyone can disagree if they like, is in what is commonly referred to as a business analyst (not sure I like that title but that is another discussion). I have found very good accountants, but they know little of systems or even computers. I have found very good programmers but they know little to nothing of business (normally they just don’t seem to have an interest). Often managers/executives complain that good technical people are hard to find; yes and no, often it is just they don’t understand what a good technical guy is and they “misdiagnose” the problem as the programmer and not the lack of what the next paragraph outines, a liaison.

The real need (to me) is the liaison or for those who bridge the gap between the two. If you can somehow truly learn and understand both (I have found normally the technical people do both or really understand both) then you can really be of value to a company. Certainly this is not expeditious but as an end goal it would be great. These people are truly rare and are sorely needed in ALL of the businesses that I have had consulting roles with. Good luck.

PatJohn  |   Oct 26 2006  8:07AM GMT

Barlowconsul’s reply was spot on. Look at the excellent article posted on sap.com “The Age of the CIO is Over”:
<a href="https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/1d798222-0b01-0010-70a9-e734390e3b6a" rel="nofollow">https://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/servlet/prt/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/1d798222-0b01-0010-70a9-e734390e3b6a</a>

This article is an interview of Dr. Wolfram Jost by ZDNet and refers to Business Process Management experts.

Anyone interested in where the need for SAP resources is highest should read this.