A new era
of tech lifecycle
of tech lifecycle
Original source here.
KOcycle is aiming to break the eight-figure revenue milestone this year, its MD has revealed as it unveiled its black-and-white rebrand.
Run by an exec team who view IT lifecycle services “through the lens of the channel”, Braintree-based KOcycle achieved 90% year-on-year growth in its recently completed fiscal 2025. Talking exclusively to IT Channel Oxygen, KOcycle Founder and MD Oli Mason said the rebrand reflects KOcycle’s efforts to simplify a market VARs and their end-user clients have often found complex to engage with.
“We’re in an industry that has been made complex,” he said. “My view is that recycling technology at the end of the lifecycle should be black and white.”
The KOcycle story started in 2018 when Mason – then working in the VAR sales world – spotted that the ITAD space was “ripe for disruption”. The market at that time was split evenly between large publicly listed organisations with the right level of compliance but no interest in rebates or supporting ESG goals, and “white van men” who “may give you a few quid, but God knows what happens to the data”, Mason said.
“At the same time, GDPR and data security was coming to the forefront, as was the realisation that technology had become a hugely growing waste stream, and sustainability was becoming more of an agenda item for IT teams,” he said. “We’re unique in that around 50% of us are from the ITAD world and 50% from the VAR world,” Mason added. “We see it very much through the lens of the channel, rather than a lens of waste management. Sustainability and security are a given, but we also appreciate that salespeople have targets, and weren’t making a good profit out of promoting recycling technology at the end of its lifecycle.”
Despite launching with just £2,000 of Mason’s own money and carrying no external debt, KOcycle has invested heavily in internal processes and staff wellbeing. It became a B Corp in December 2023 and is ADISA certified. It has also been a living wage employer for over two years.
“I’ve seen first-hand how if you invest in your people and reward them well, everyone feels like they’re a part of the journey,” Mason said.
KOcycle’s black-and-white rebrand has touched everything from its corporate hoodies and mugs to its documentation and website. At the centre of the relaunch is KOcycle’s new digital inclusion offering, KODI, which Mason says will help tackle the UK’s digital divide by redistributing thousands of second-user devices to charities. Resellers and end users have been reticent to donate second-user kit in the past because doing so was too confusing and complex, Mason claimed.
“Do we charge for services, or do we not? Do we give them rebates back or not? Does that offset the service costs? Then there’s the different standards and the backwards logistics element. It makes it very hard for the IT decision maker to understand what’s going on,” he said. “Our portal is the bedrock of everything we do. Our processes are world class, and then there’s the ability for customers to choose their disposition method. I think we’ve simplified it – and that’s the key thing for me.”
KOcycle grew revenues 90% in its year to 31 March 2025, Mason revealed.
“We have the ability to be the leader in this space,” he said. “As I look ahead I see so much untapped potential. While we are talking eight-figures for the coming financial year I see no reason why we can’t become a nine-figure business delivering phenomenal impact along the way. There’s a lot of moaning and complaining – apparently this industry is in decline. But we’re bucking the trend. Demand has never been stronger, and I think people are now just realising they actually want a strategic partner in this space.”
Visit the KOcycle Content Zone here.
As a result, Hands’ advice is to go for reuse where possible, which involves tackling the problem “higher upstream”. Firstly, it entails classifying data into high, medium and low security categories and deciding what to do with storage devices and hard drives on that basis. It also means employing industry standards, such as IEEE-2883, to safely erase data from devices and drives that have been designated for reuse – which should consist of the majority. The CDI has developed tools and guidance to this end. The upshot of this approach is that such equipment can then be sold on, for example, to third party organizations in emerging markets, which “don’t need the newest and greatest but are looking for something more cost-effective”, Hands says. Forslund takes a similar stance:
”Reuse is the most critical part of the sustainability equation – the longer the lifecycle, the better the sustainability.”
While reuse makes a lot of sense when trying to reduce e-waste, there is also value to be had from encouraging product vendors to adopt a more modular design approach. This would means components could replaced, recycled, or reused at all levels as and when required. As Mason says:
”It would mean all hardware could have a second life and not end up in landfill. From a hardware vendor standpoint, their hands are starting to be forced by legislation, but they’re moving as slowly as possible as it doesn’t help them. Their aim is to sell as much product as possible. But change will come, and we’ll see real movement in the next five to six years, as consumers are requiring it.”