After more than three decades building technology businesses across software, hardware and telecommunications, Haroldo Jacobovicz turned his attention to a problem that had been growing quietly in plain sight: millions of people and organisations held back not by a lack of ambition, but by outdated equipment they could not afford to replace.
That observation became the founding premise of Arlequim Technologies, a computer virtualisation company launched in 2021. The concept is straightforward in principle, though technically demanding in practice. By applying cloud-based virtualisation, Arlequim allows older machines to perform at a level comparable to current-generation hardware — without requiring users to purchase new devices. For organisations operating on tight budgets, whether in the public sector, the corporate world or the consumer market, this represents a meaningful shift in what becomes financially possible.
Haroldo Jacobovicz had spent years observing how access to technology shapes opportunity. His earlier work in telecommunications had brought him close to the realities of digital inequality in Brazil, where the gap between urban and rural connectivity, and between high-income and low-income households, remained significant. The experience informed his thinking about where technology could make a practical difference, and what kinds of barriers genuinely prevented people from participating in digital life.
Arlequim was built around three distinct markets: the corporate sector, public institutions and individual consumers with a specific focus on the gaming community. The inclusion of gamers is not incidental. Brazil has become one of the largest gaming markets in Latin America, with nearly three-quarters of the population engaging with online games as of 2024. For many of those players, access to high-performance computing is limited by the cost of modern hardware. Virtualisation technology offers a route around that barrier, and the application of gamification principles in broader digital engagement has reinforced just how central interactive technology has become to everyday life in Brazil.
The alignment between Arlequim’s model and the country’s digital inclusion priorities is notable. Brazil’s government has increasingly directed investment toward expanding access to technology, and the demand for affordable computing solutions continues to grow across multiple sectors. Arlequim’s approach — improving what already exists rather than requiring new purchases — fits practically within that context.
Haroldo Jacobovicz has described the company’s purpose as providing the best of digital life to the greatest number of people, at the most accessible cost. That framing positions performance and affordability not as competing priorities but as conditions that need to be met together. A solution that works technically but remains out of reach financially addresses only half the problem.
Whether in public administration, business operations or personal use, the underlying argument is consistent: the value of technology depends on who can actually use it. Arlequim Technologies was built around that premise, and the markets it serves reflect the breadth of the access gap it is designed to address.