Editor's Note

By Trish WilliamsWith the millennial rollover now just four months away, the nation's political leaders are seizing the milestone occasion to rethink how government should operate. And as federal, state and local officials continue to embrace electronic government solutions to better serve their citizens, systems integrators will be there every step of the way.Washington Technology Staff Writer Steve LeSueur learned firsthand how the states plan to reinvent government using information technology when he attended the National Governors' Association meeting earlier this month in St. Louis.In his front-page story, LeSueur outlines the goals of Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), NGA's new chairman. Leavitt is calling on his fellow governors to embrace information technologies to improve government services and to strengthen their state economies.As Leavitt notes, states must prepare for an era of "networked governance" that is characterized by central coordination but with local control. If the states do not take the initiative to coordinate their public services, they could be squeezed into a one-size-fits-all solution dropped on them by the federal government.One big integrator that has profited from efforts by federal and state governments to reinvent themselves has been Lockheed Martin Corp. In a front-page Q&A with Staff Writer Nick Wakeman, Arthur Johnson, president of Lockheed Martin's Information and Services Sector, discusses how his firm is pursuing the hot markets in electronic commerce, information assurance and outsourcing.And finally, no look ahead to 2000 would be complete without an analysis of Microsoft Corp.'s much-anticipated Windows 2000 software release, scheduled for October. WT Senior Writer for Technology John Makulowich examines the major impact the product will have on organizations, network administrators and the competitive landscape. With so much activity on the IT scene today, 2000 is sure to be exciting. We say: Bring it on.XXXSPLITXXX-