I've heard and read many opinions painting the role of the business analysts as being (or needing to be) purely business oriented.  The argument is "let the technical team deal with the technical details."

The practice however, the business analyst is confronted by the technical aspects of the solution on virtually every project.  These days - it is a rarity, if at all, to find a business project or initiative which does not involve some level of system support.

A recent article in the discussing the state of the Australian job markets commented on the fact that:

 "The roles in demand this year will include project managers, architects and business analysts with technical skills."

That has been my observation as well... at least in the USA.

There seem to be very few Business Analyst job postings out there which do not include some level of demand for some technical skills.

Would love you hear your thoughts and comments!

- Adrian