I'd say they're right, based on my many years experience dealing with non-programmers and this exact situation. Knowledge of programming and the business are b

I'd say they're right, based on my many years experience dealing with non-programmers and this exact situation. Knowledge of programming and the business are both important and key here, but it's the slant towards business that can give someone the leg up on saving companies money. It isn't always about simple data entry or automation, it's going about your daily job with the insights and skills that basic programming provide that allow people to recognize where a new script or application could improve their business process in some way. Business processes can be extremely complicated, and you can't easily impart business knowledge and processes upon a programmer in a manner sufficient to give them the ability to recognize where their skills can be best applied in a business.