<p>I believe that back office is mainly a term used in the banking industry. Essentially, it is a part of the corporation that keeps the company running. Back office positions don’t partake in the actually business of the firm, but they provide support to those that do, and/or overall support to keep the firm running. Back office roles aren’t client facing.</p>
<p>If you worked in IT for a large retailer, you could install a new IT system that saves the company millions of dollars a year. Thus your impact could be quite large. However, that is still in support of the company itself. The retailer isn’t in the business of creating IT solutions. It is in the business of selling goods. The front office would be the salesman at the store.</p>
<p>Back office positions are probably looked down upon at places like Investment banks where the bankers have great $ upside. IT would obviously be looked upon favorably at a technology firm like an IT consulting firm. There, one could ascend all the way to CEO from IT. However, at a retailer, it is likely your upside would be limited to reaching the CIO (chief information officer) position.</p>