A company called Pro Apta Ltd has been spun off from Rapid Recall Ltd to provide networking consultancy, design, and implementation. Pro Apta is wholly owned by Rapid Recall, which was acquired by Metrologie SA of Paris in January of this year, but it will operate independently of the parent company. It is based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire and is targeting its services at local companies in the Thames Valley, at the public sector, and the financial and corporate markets. It currently supports several products, including PCSA, Novell, Torus, 3-Com, Token Ring, and Elisa Talk. Managing director Tony Greco believes that Pro Apta differs from other companies in this field largely because it is vendor-independent, but can also draw on the support and expertise of Rapid Recall. He wants to turn Pro Apta into a UKP5m business by 1990 and establish a number of offices across the UK. However, he recognises that the networking industry is increasingly complex and to meet his targets, he must not only increase the number of consultants employed by the company, but attract some industry gurus. He would like to see Pro Apta become some sort of official standards testing centre, and he foresees working with other bodies like the Department of Trade & Industry on issues such as open systems interconnection. Greco says that the continent is of eventual interest, acknowledging that Metrologie is well placed to assume the supporting role there that Rapid Recall is providing here.
