Monitoring mounds of data collected to keep our nation secure is no easy feat; Michael Kelly and Barry Brickner recognized this as a niche opportunity, and in 2005 partnered to open their intelligence consultancy, Brickner, Kelly & Associates, Inc.

Colleagues for 25 years, they started the company with one government contract, and have grown to offering a full range of IT, analytical and consulting support. "We primarily consult to the intelligence community," Kelly, president of BKA, said. "We support technology for those players who would hunt down the Bin Ladens of the world, or who would deal with international issues, like China and Iran."

According to Kelly, while "the WikiLeaks era is behind us, cyber security is going to be at the forefront of government defense contracting."

Getting control of risks associated with cloud-based computing will be a chief focal point of the coming decade. "That's something that's going to be exciting and challenging as we go forward," Kelly said.

Having been in government and weathered economic cycles since the Reagan era, Kelly holds an optimistic view for the next two years, if all parties—investors, employers, employees—maintain realistic expectations. "We're going to see some ups and downs in the stock market and employment numbers, but I think we're through the worst of it. People just need to be patient."

Everyone on the Brickner & Kelly team undergoes a routine background check to maintain security clearances. "In our environment, where classified data is handled and needs to be secured, you have to have 100-percent credibility. Without credibility, we wouldn't be in business long," Kelly said.

For more information, please visit: www.brickner-kelly.com