Circular Computing CEO Rod Neale on investments and channel frustrations

Neale opens up about his plans for the next 12 months and applying more pressure in favour of used IT

The market is moving towards sustainable IT, and Circular Computing (CC) is primed and ready for the demand.

In June, Circular Computing won a major €30m contract in Ireland to supply remanufactured notebooks to the Irish public sector over the next four years.

The contract holds the potential for around 15,000 notebooks to be provided annually, supporting Ireland’s ESG goals.

Speaking with CRN, Circular Computing founder and CEO Rod Neale says he hopes the groundbreaking partnership becomes the norm going forward.

“We'll continue to build demand with end users in the enterprise and public sector segments.

“Ireland will by no means be unique as we go forward. That growth will then place us in the space of distribution, resellers and system integrators around the delivery and we'll continue to expand those relationships of value.”

Adding what else is on his to-do list over the next 12 months, Neale says CC has its “sights set on the leasing business.”

“They have a huge investment set up on their residual values of hundreds of thousands of laptops, and as they get refreshed, we believe that we can help in two ways.

“One, we believe we can deliver them exceptional returns on their product coming out by bypassing the entire used marketplace and working with them to deliver the product into the remanufactured segment, as opposed to the used segment, and fulfilling that customer demand for their product.

“Two, the leasing business has had a nirvana of a DaaS model (Desktop as a Service) for a very long time, and we think remanufacturing delivers that option as a reality, as opposed to a normal lease just wrapped up in different language.”

Neale also reveals the remanufacture specialist is open to exploring strategic investment partners.

“We think there's global players out there in the channel that could bring a one plus one equals four to our model.

“It's not something that we're being aggressive about, but we're also knowledgeable enough in the sector to understand that for global scale and to affect change, it may be something we need to consider if the right opportunity presents itself.”

More pressure from used sector

According to its website, Circular Computing exists to “create a more ethical, sustainable and socially responsible way to buy enterprise grade IT.”

It is no surprise then that Neale plans to turn up the pressure on companies to turn to used IT.

“I think mimicking what we say and how we present ourselves and our product, as well as trying to pass off inferior product as the same as ours, that I consider to be minimum investment, maximum return,” he states.

“It's always flattering when somebody tries to imitate what we're doing. But it also brings with it a huge negative on what I believe the industry actually needs.”

It needs, Neale believes, visionary companies delivering real change in the options provided to an end user customer.

“What it doesn’t need, and what will kill any enthusiasm from the channel or the end user, is players in the market giving them A-tier speech, and then delivering B-tier product.

“Because we will never ever get that customer back. They’re lost to sustainable IT forever.

“There are some great companies, developing great options and investing in more than just marketing. Those companies will forever have our support, because we have the same goals, and we understand and appreciate the challenge of building the product and the process first and then the marketing.

“The other way around is just lazy and damaging.

“While these comments may not win me friends in the used industry, it will win me friends with companies that I value and the ones that have trod the same path as me.”

‘The market is changing’

Highlighting what he needs to concentrate on over the next period is an acknowledgement that the market is changing to being more open towards collaborative conversations, according to Neale.

“I don't think that negates competition or enthusiasm to be the best, but I think the IT world has recognised there's a complexity and a challenge involved with delivering sustainable IT.

“I think that's something the market is definitely recognising, that there's an opportunity within sustainable IT, and to not be part of it is just going to lose market share and lose revenue.”

With OEMs, resellers, distributors right up to the end users taking advantage of the noise around sustainable IT, this is where Neale needs to focus, because that’s where the opportunities lie.

“In the last few weeks we have been asked to deliver on numerous projects that are going to be delivered next year that will likely total 100,000 laptops.

“And I think that that’s the difference I’m feeling.”

Channel frustrated, but supply will follow demand

Neale acknowledges frustration from the channel about the way sustainability is handled but believes this is the wrong point of view.

“Frustration serves no purpose.

“Channel supply will follow demand, and as demand grows, so will supply through the channel.

“Commercially, I want the entire market educated tomorrow on our products and why they're different from the legacy used channel offering. And that will happen when customers demand it.

“It is happening. As I said, we’ve been asked for quotes of over 100,000.”

But Neale pleads to look at the channel and the challenges it faces, which are not always about hardware supply, but rather support.

“Without support there is no legitimate offer as a sustainable offer.

“The OEMs have to work out how to support the largest customers on the planet, across 30 countries, with multiple products across four time zones, 24 hours a day, without fail.

“So the channel and all of those bits that I need to deliver, they will come along. It's the demand and legislation and competition like us, and the OEMs, distributors, resellers and system integrators will lose market share, public opinion and revenues.”

Does Neale want directors from every major reseller and system integrator across the globe to work with Circular Computing? Of course he does, he says.

“That will happen when the customer demands it, and then the channel will respond with a call to action.

“I think my company just prepared early, because having spent 30 years in the used IT business, we were under no illusions about how hard the task was going to be.

“The customer has their goals. The channel has its goals. We have our goals, but we need to work in tandem.

“If I look at the IT channel, do I see it from top to bottom, showing real enterprise and focus to deliver change in line with sustainability? Yes, I do.

“But it's never going to work, never going to be seamless. For me, the biggest challenge all the time is to try and take a company like mine out of the noise of the rest of the industry that just considers used IT to be used IT.”