Raiser's Edge

Two of us sit in the IT department and support all RE users. We do advanced tasks, and give training. There is also an "RE Expert" in Advancement that supports that department specifically with things like mailing lists and more basic analysis.

A strong data mindset is required to supporting RE, since many people struggle with the interface and intuitiveness.

one person is processing gifts
one person is responsible for the overall database management
sometimes we get volunteers for simple data entry

We outsource IT. I get support from their chat services mostly or I call to screenshare for more complicated queries, reports, questions. You should have someone who could atleast screenshare and be able to assist with database challenges and have IT who could add new users if needed.

We have a database manager who is the full time support person. They manage RE and the integration between RE, FE and
Netcommunity. Our member relations person assists with coding and gift entry.

If using a hosted environment, IT support is practically unnecessary.

We have a dedicated IT staff of four of whom one works with RE in our Advancement Office pretty much full time and the other (me) about 10-25% depending on what else is going on in the school. For example, during admission season, I focus on the school but during auction time, I help out with RE.
As far as skills, if you advertise for people with two years of RE experience, you're likely to get a person with two years experience working with two screens in RE. It's a massive program. We use a large percentage of the feature set so we look for more general tech skills than RE specific skills figuring we can teach the RE stuff.

The dedicated person is pretty much of an RE specialist whereas I'm more of an IT generalist with experience with RE (and EE/BBNC/and other Blackbaud products). The dedicated person will run straight-forward and routine queries, reports, and exports in RE and will modify them as needed. For a wholly new data need she'll likely consult with me and we'll craft a query or a process to harvest the data from RE and manipulate it in MS Excel or MS Access. Of late, we're getting better at crafting SQL queries and pulling the data straight in to Excel directly from the Blackbaud database, so SQL skills would be helpful if you're looking to do that.

We needed to get a dedicated RE expert on staff. Not having one really limited our ability to use the system most effectively.

Analytical problem-solvers with good listening skills. Support individuals should have a foundational understanding of intended outcomes to ensure they can work backward to solve the issue, especially to do so without unintended consequences. IT and/or database management knowledg is not sufficient; one must understand the larger need for coding, reporting, etc. and how those functions and fields will be used.