Business Analyst vs. Systems Analyst

A few days ago, I had an interview with an Australian IT manager who was hiring people for his software company. I introduced myself as a Systems Analyst, one of the titles printed on my name card while in China, and after talking for a while, I found that we had different understandings on what a Systems Analyst should be.

According to his understanding, a systems analyst should NOT be in charge of analysing customer's business model and requirements and therefore proposing the applications architecture and the related designs, that's the matter of a business analyst. A systems analyst should deal with the things regarding systems integration, such as what kind of software this server should run, where that router should be located and etc.

Is it the de facto definition in Australia?

Anyway, here are some definitions of Business Analyst and Systems Analyst that I found from Google Definitions:

Business Analyst:

* The person whose job it is to analyze the operation and data of the business to develop a business solution.
it.csumb.edu/departments/data/glossary.html

* Business Analysts are responsible for identifying the business needs of their clients and stakeholders to help determine solutions to business problems. They typically have a high degree of industry experience and perform a liaison function to software developers or other service providers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_analyst

Systems Analyst:

* The organizational role most responsible for the analysis and design of information systems.
www.cbu.edu/~lschmitt/I351/glossary.htm

* responsible for researching, planning and recommending software and systems choices to meet an organization's business requirements. Systems analysts are normally responsible for developing cost analyses, design considerations, implementation timelines, and generally feasibility studies of a computer system before making recommendations to senior management.
www.course.com/careers/glossary/itjobs.cfm

* A programmer or consultant who designs and manages the development of business applications. Typically, systems analysts are more involved in design issues than in day-to-day coding. However, systems analyst is a somewhat arbitrary title, so different companies define the role differently.
www.angelfire.com/anime3/internet/programming.htm

* The person whose job it is to investigate the current system and design and implement the new computer system.
www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/ict/system/1implementingrev8.shtml

* One who engages in the study of, and separation of, a group of interacting, interrelated, or interdependent (business functions, processes, activities or) elements forming a complex whole into its constituent parts for individual study.
www.dai-sho.com/pgsa2/pgsa-glossary.html

* A person skilled at systems analysis.
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* Systems analysis is the science dealing with analysis of complex, large scale systems and the interactions within those systems. This field is closely related to operations research.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_analyst (currently redirected to Business Analyst, hehe ;-))

* A person responsible for studying the requirements, feasibility, cost, design, specification, and implementation of a computer based system for an organization/ business.
www.orafaq.com/glossary/faqgloss.htm