The way I understand it, the person filling this position - which is in an IT function providing services to other organizational entities - is expected to talk to the recipients of those services about their specific needs. The organizational entities supported are referred to as "line areas" ("line functions" would probably be better) because in the org chart their boxes are located along the organization's reporting *lines*. The IT function, by contrast, is probably a central service entity (cutting across the lines).

(So the question is not really IT-specific but would be from the field of organization/management, or whatever proz.com calls it.)