New year brings fresh challenges

Every year opens with issues that have gone unresolved from the previous year. Other issues that may have just been bubbling to the surface are now at full boil.2008 is no different. Government contractors are faced with tight budgets as their customers face looming deadlines, such as those for IPv6 and the Real ID Act.But this year, there are a couple of added twists that might cloud the vision of even the best prognosticators ? the November elections and the last 12 months of the Bush administration.In this issue, we do our best to explain the most important issues and trends shaping the government market, such as the turmoil at the General Services Administration and greater scrutiny of government contractors.We don't claim to be comprehensive. One of the fun things about lists of this kind is that they are fun to pick apart. You can read them and wonder why one item was included and another left out.But the theme is change ? new members of Congress, new leaders in the White House and a changing of the guard at agencies. All of these are pivotal issues in 2008, and we are ready to cover them and explain what they mean to government contractors.Change can be scary, but it also creates opportunities for government contractors ? and even for magazine editors.