Everyone agrees on the importance of the business analyst role, but few know exactly what it is that business analysts do. In truth, there are two main types of business analyst: business-oriented and IT-oriented. But with the move from information technology (IT) to business technology (BT), the distinctions between these breeds of analyst are blurring. Many business analysts will continue to specialize in one or the other of these domains, but a new breed of business technology analyst will emerge to play a new role implementing changes to business policies directly within supporting software.