After building businesses across software, hardware services, and telecommunications over three decades, Brazilian entrepreneur Haroldo Jacobovicz entered the cloud virtualization space in 2021 with the establishment of Arlequim Technologies. The company focuses on delivering computing performance through remote infrastructure rather than local hardware upgrades.

Decades of Technology Experience

The journey toward Arlequim began long before its founding. Haroldo Jacobovicz graduated with a civil engineering degree from the Federal University of Paraná but pivoted toward information technology at the start of his working life. His parents—both civil engineers themselves—had modeled different professional approaches, with his father combining engineering practice with academic work and his mother becoming one of the first female engineers in Paraná.

His early corporate career included a stint at Esso, where data-driven analysis formed the basis of his work in commercial strategy. He later moved to the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant as an advisor, gaining exposure to public sector technology challenges. There, he noted how government procurement processes created obstacles for organizations trying to modernize their computing equipment.

This understanding led to Minauro, his computer rental business targeting public agencies. The model offered four-year contracts with equipment replacement every 18 months, addressing the bureaucratic difficulties around acquiring permanent assets. From there, he expanded into software through acquisitions that eventually formed the e-Governe Group, serving municipalities with administrative and management systems.

Arlequim’s Service Offering

Arlequim Technologies provides virtualization services designed to enhance the performance of older or lower-specification computers. The technical approach involves processing tasks on cloud servers and delivering results to the user’s machine, effectively bypassing local hardware limitations.

Three market segments receive attention from the company. Corporate customers can use the service to delay or avoid hardware replacement costs. Public sector clients benefit from a model that sidesteps lengthy procurement cycles. Consumer users, particularly those with gaming interests, gain access to applications their machines could not otherwise run.

The gaming segment introduces elements of gamification by enabling users to participate in experiences that demand higher computing power than their equipment possesses. This opens entertainment options without requiring significant upfront investment in new devices.

Philosophy on Technology Access

Throughout his career, Haroldo Jacobovicz has expressed views on making technology more widely available. His written work touches on themes of digital inclusion, arguing that meaningful access requires addressing affordability alongside connectivity. He has suggested that placing technology within reach matters little if cost barriers prevent actual use.

Arlequim’s business model aligns with this perspective by targeting users who face financial or procedural obstacles to obtaining current-generation hardware. The service attempts to provide a workaround for those constraints across its three customer categories.

Where Things Stand

Arlequim operates today from Brazil, competing in a virtualization market that includes various other service providers. The company draws on its founder’s lengthy history in technology businesses, though cloud-based services represent a different landscape than his previous ventures in hardware rental, software development, and telecommunications infrastructure.