By Georgeann H. Ikuma
Named after one of
Spain’s professional soccer teams, Betis Group Inc. grew from a small-scale
startup out of a garage to a leading systems integrator on the global stage.
“I was 7 years old when
my father went to serve two tours in Vietnam, and my mother took me and my
siblings to live with my grandparents in Seville, Spain,” said Hernan Cortes,
president and CEO of Betis Group. “I grew up a big fan of Spain’s Real Betis
[Balompié] soccer team, so when it came time for me to come up with a company
name, I didn’t have to think twice.”
With an electrical and
computer engineering background, he started in the tech industry as a computer
engineer for the federal government, where he developed database systems and
designed computer networks.
“Surrounded by the brightest
engineering minds, I knew then that I wanted to start my own business,” said
Cortes, who was one of 13 engineers selected by President [Bill] Clinton to be
part of a telecommunications security working group to set standards and
guidance on protocols used for data communication.
“One day I came home
from work, told my wife that I quit my job, and then started my own business
out of the garage,” he said.
Founded more than 25
years ago, Betis Group provides enterprise information technology, software and
systems engineering, cloud computing and cybersecurity services to both
government and commercial clients.
“When I started the
company in 1995, I was told that there weren’t many Hispanic leaders in the IT
[information technology] industry, so I worked very hard to grow Betis Group —
to prove to people that we, as Hispanics, can be major players in this market,”
said Cortes, whose company teams with several Hispanic startups with emerging
technologies. “As a value-added reseller of IT hardware and software, it’s
important that we keep abreast of technology trends, which is why we hire and
retain some of the industry’s most outstanding IT talent.”
A winning team
Since 2001 Betis Group
has partnered with CDW Corp. — a leading multibrand provider of information
technology solutions to business, government, education and health care
customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada — to provide a
broad range of products, services and integrated solutions.
“As an MBE, CDW’s
supplier diversity program allows us to leverage its experienced sales force
and past performance, in addition to its enterprise-level configuration and
staged shipment capacity,” Cortes said. “It gives us the opportunity to amplify
our expertise and strong customer focus with best-in-class technology, as well
as the best e-commerce and operational infrastructure in the market.”
CDW’s supplier diversity
program benefits MBEs, their customers and the company.
'“Leveraging the solutions’ breadth and operational capacity of CDW has allowed us to have an increase in sales and an exposure to market opportunities,” Cortes said. “Our partnership has also enabled us to bring a value-add to our customers by providing a trusted MBE to facilitate its supplier-diversity spend requirements while providing the value and security of our vast resources and expertise.”
Although the COVID-19
pandemic presented temporary challenges with federal contracts during the past
year and a half, Betis Group perseveres in its goal to continue providing
excellent service that its customers value and expect.
“We continue to focus on our core competencies, and bring emerging technologies to the market, such as no-code/low-code platforms to build transformative enterprise apps,” Cortes said. “We’re optimistic about our future.”
To learn more about Betis Group’s supplier diversity program, visit betis.com/about-us/diversity.