Commercial and business environment is complex in comparison to consumer market operations. Let me illustrate the difference with an example. If you want to purchase a pair of shoes what would you usually do? Go to the supermarket or a shoe shop and purchase it off the shelf. This is fairly simple. But if the shopkeeper insists that their shoes are compatible only with XYZ brand of sox, what would happen? Either, you would refuse to buy the item or you would shop for suitable, compatible and matching sox. Now what happens if the shoe can only be polished with a particular brand? Field applications engineers are required to fulfill such complex demands in an industrial or commercial environment. They bridge the gap between a supplier and buyer. Field applications engineer is a decision layer between the buyer and seller. He is a specialist who recommends purchase of components which would be compatible and work with other parts of a product. Frequently, several parts are required to create products.Field applications engineers is a term associated more with modern electronics and its applications. Decision making is more complicated because of compatibility issues arising out of a mix of software and hardware. In such a scenario testing and physically configuring individual components is an involved task. It becomes harder for product developers to source their components. Field applications engineers step in to assist in such purchases. The suppliers gain new customers without having to demonstrate their products to users. Users on the other hand follow the recommendations of the field applications engineers. Many firms specialize in this activity. Typically they employ qualified engineers to assist product developers in taking technical purchase decisions. In a way field applications engineers are sales consultants who bridge the gap between buyer and seller in a multiple product environment.