\ About us \ Vision
Creating value, delivering benefit.
We understand the business models and strategies of industry.
We know both classic and new methods to lead projects to success, to rescue projects, and to guide people through change.
That lets us accompany the entire journey – from the first idea through the first pilot and the finished solution into real use and real benefit.
Creating long-term value for shareholders, companies and employees is what drives us.
We deliver results, not workshops.
\ Expertise \ Aftersales
Successfactor Aftersales Business
Strategies
An individual approach to the most important factors in the aftersales business.
Core Business
These are classic key competencies that drive sales and margins.
Transformation
Reliable processes, clear interfaces and utilised tools.
Intelligence & data
Data handling and the sensible use of new technologies.
Strategies
We organize existing ideas and initiatives to create clarity regarding requirements and goals in the Aftersales sector. In collaboration with customers, employees, and shareholders, we develop a vision for the future of the organization and a tailored plan to achieve it.
Core Business
The core service offerings remain decisive for achieving sustainable success in terms of sales, margins, and customer loyalty. These offerings form the basis for building trust and communication with customers.
Transformation
We immerse ourselves in the value creation processes of the Aftersales Business. Together with your employees, we accelerate and stabilize core processes, identify areas of expertise, and maximize the use of existing tools. We establish a solid foundation for the interface-intensive Aftersales Business.
Intelligence & Data
The sensible use of new technologies paves the way for future services and systems by evaluating available solutions and implementing suitable ideas and initiatives within the company, in collaboration with employees and customers.
Strategies in Aftersales
We organize existing ideas and initiatives to create clarity regarding requirements and goals in the Aftersales sector. In collaboration with customers, employees, and shareholders, we develop a vision for the future of the organization and a tailored plan to achieve it.
Role, Vision & Path
What are the Aftersales requirements of customers, companies, and shareholders? What are the resulting framework conditions and objectives? How have competition and the market developed? Who are the competitors in the Aftersales Business? What is the vision, and what are the concrete steps to achieve it?
Strategies
Deriving sub-strategies, goals, and fields of action for core aspects of Aftersales: parts business, pricing, monetization, sales, partner conditions, data management, digital and traditional service offerings, organizational structures, automation, service contracts, and more. From conception to implementation or interim support.
Sales potential
Capture and quantify the active installed base worldwide. Derive parts, maintenance, and service requirements for different machine types and calculate the total individual sales potential of Aftersales. An essential benchmark for strategy and roadmap development.
- Results & benefits
- Integrated into corporate strategy
- Strategic role & vision of Aftersales
- Clear roadmap and fields of action
- Promotion of power and expertise by shareholders
- Results & benefits
- Roadmap and targets per department
- Coordinated overall & departmental strategies
- Reliable project success in terms of content and time
- Quick wins, fast effectiveness
- Results & benefits
- Quantified installed base worldwide
- Sales potential per region & service offering
- Target sales & market share Aftersales
- Benchmarks with market participants
Core Business of Aftersales
The core service offerings remain decisive for achieving sustainable success in terms of sales, margins, and customer loyalty. These offerings form the basis for building trust and communication with customers.
Ersatzteilgeschäft
We guarantee turnover and margin in service. We take a holistic view of the spare parts business by optimizing warehousing, logistics, market cultivation, and ordering and invoicing processes. Our goal is to increase global availability, provide top response times, and ensure punctual delivery to your customers, contract partners, and on-site service assignments.
Pricing
Transparent and differentiated pricing creates the necessary basic trust in your prices, reduces discussions, and increases margins and customer loyalty. Together, we analyze the existing price structure, create markup categories, define target prices, and support the introduction and enforcement of the new prices in the market.
Service-Verträge
The aftersales offer requires a stable, high-performance foundation. We will work with you to define a contract structure that is tailored to the customer and delivers benefits. Regular sales create long-term customer loyalty, increase market share and boost company resilience in volatile times.
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Kurzfristige Performance- und Umsatzsteigerung
- Reduktion Working Capital & Prozesskosten
- Minimierung Fehlerquoten & Nachlieferungen
- Kurze Durchlaufzeiten, hohe Verfügbarkeit
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Verbessertes Preis-/ Leistungs-Image
- Erhöhung von Marge & Absatz
- Vereinheitlichung von Partnerkonditionen
- Aufbau aktives Preismanagement
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Erhöhte Resilienz und Konjunktur-Unabhängigkeit
- Langfristige Kundenbindung
- Einheitliche, transparente Vertragsinhalte
- Aufbau Vertragsmanagement
Transformation of Aftersales
We immerse ourselves in the value creation processes of the Aftersales Business. Together with your employees, we accelerate and stabilize core processes, identify areas of expertise, and maximize the use of existing tools. We establish a solid foundation for the interface-intensive Aftersales Business.
Automatisierung & Tools
The ongoing automation of processes and interfaces creates freedom, which also frees up valuable employee capacities
Service Daten-Ströme
Holistic planning from the creation to the use and storage of data as a key competence of future technologies and opportunities
Knowhow-Sicherung
ErIncreased productivity through acceptance, knowledge and application of AI solutions, automation and software in the service area and at the customer's premises
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Kurzfristige Performance- und Umsatzsteigerung
- Reduktion Working Capital & Prozesskosten
- Minimierung Fehlerquoten & Nachlieferungen
- Kurze Durchlaufzeiten, hohe Verfügbarkeit
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Verbessertes Preis-/ Leistungs-Image
- Erhöhung von Marge & Absatz
- Vereinheitlichung von Partnerkonditionen
- Aufbau aktives Preismanagement
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Erhöhte Resilienz und Konjunktur-Unabhängigkeit
- Langfristige Kundenbindung
- Einheitliche, transparente Vertragsinhalte
- Aufbau Vertragsmanagement
Intelligence & Data in Aftersales
The sensible use of new technologies paves the way for future services and systems by evaluating available solutions and implementing suitable ideas and initiatives within the company, in collaboration with employees and customers.
Intelligente Assistenzsysteme
More productivity for employees and customers thanks to intelligent assistance systems for diagnostics, communication, documentation and know-how searches.
Intelligent Services
Lefficient and intelligent systems use service and machine data for innovative and beneficial services for the machine, operator and OEM.
Individueller Weg in die Zukunft
Recognizing and harnessing the individual (service) potential of available technologies and taking the right path towards "digital enabling".
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Kurzfristige Performance- und Umsatzsteigerung
- Reduktion Working Capital & Prozesskosten
- Minimierung Fehlerquoten & Nachlieferungen
- Kurze Durchlaufzeiten, hohe Verfügbarkeit
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Verbessertes Preis-/ Leistungs-Image
- Erhöhung von Marge & Absatz
- Vereinheitlichung von Partnerkonditionen
- Aufbau aktives Preismanagement
- Ergebnisse & Nutzen
- Erhöhte Resilienz und Konjuktur-Unabhängigkeit
- Langfristige Kundenbindung
- Einheitliche, transparente Vertragsinhalte
- Aufbau Vertragsmanagement
Solutions
Ready for immediate use by partners or individually created.
Publications
Summarized expertise on specific topics and trends.
Interim
Temporary experts to bridge, supplement and coach.
Solutions
We take consulting to the next level and find solutions to individual problems - from requirements to support during development and implementation. We also work together with software providers, developers and innovation providers.
Publications
Summarized expertise on specific topics and trends.
Interim
Temporary experts to bridge, supplement and coach. Whether setting up aftersales structures, providing senior support for managers and employees or bridging resource bottlenecks. We take on interim positions for the aftersales business.
Solutions for aftersales
We take consulting to the next level and find solutions to individual problems - from requirements to support during development and implementation. We also work together with software providers, developers and innovation providers.
Transaction Network - Service-Ökosystem
The industrial ecosystem specifically for the aftersales business. It is networked, manufacturer-neutral in real time and with a clear structure. Early automatic detection of critical situations at the operator and direct integration of OEM and supplier. Delivery deadlines are met thanks to clear structures in aftersales - even when resources are scarce. Operating costs are reduced thanks to automated processes, optimized inventories and fewer reconciliations.
MAX MACHINE - der Maschinen-Assistent der Zukunft
Intelligence comes into the machining centers, as an assistant, guardian and right hand in daily operation and maintenance. Max-Maschine is a standardized basic technology, cloud-free and managed, it combines OEM and operator knowledge with existing data separation.
Designed as a white-label after-sales product from our partner ISTARIUM.
EquipmentCircle - Produktionsnetz des Vertrauens
In a networked production world across different companies, machines need to trust and know each other. EquipmentCircle forms a trusted network of known units ("family") so that foreign data is ignored. A standardized plug-and-play solution without changing the production data protects the integrity and identity of production data inside and outside the plant.
Designed by our partner ISTARIUM.
Publications


Interim for Aftersales
Whether setting up aftersales structures, providing senior support for managers and employees or bridging resource bottlenecks. We take on interim positions for the aftersales business.
- Überbrückung von Stellenausschreibungen (Service- & Teamleitung)
- Aufbau von Strukturen & Teams parallel zum Tagesgeschäft
- Begleitung der Umsetzung als Coach, Sparring-Partner und zusätzliche Ressource
- Einhaltgen von zeitlichen und inhaltlichen Zielen
\ Expertise \ Branchen
Expertise for mid-sized manufacturers
Our experts each have up to 20 years of experience with mid-sized, mostly family-owned manufacturers based in Central Europe.
\ Über uns \ Team & erfolge
Experts Team

Michael Mai
Managing Partner
- Munich, married, 2 children
- >20 years Transformation & Operations
- Focus: Creating value with Aftersales

Bea Kreuzmayr
Expert
- Munich, married, 2 children
- >5 years production & change
- Focus: sustainable transformation

Santiago Porcel
Process Expert
- Munich
- >5 years Processes & Operations
- Focus: Process Excell. & Transfomation

Leon Geerdink
Senior Technology Expert
- Munich, married, 1 child
- >10 yrs. Data Scientist, Software Developer
- Focus: Data & Automation

Tillmann Gmelin
Senior Expert
- Munich, married, 3 children
- >15 years in Finance & Operations
- Focus: costs, margins, financial ratios

Martin Riedel
Senior Expert
- Würzburg, married, 1 child
- >15 years Operations & digitalization
- Focus: profitable software deployment

Olga Brumnik
Supply Chain Expert
- Munich, married, 1 child
- >5 years Supply Chain & Operations
- Focus: effective process automation
\ About us \ Team & successes
We created value for
Atlas Copco \ BMW Group \ Demag Cranes \ Deutsche Bahn \ Felder Group \ Fette Compacting \ Giesecke & Devrient \ Jobrad Gruppe \ Lenze \ Liebherr \ Linde Group \ ITT \ Otto Bihler Maschinenfabrik \ Pöttinger Landmaschinen \ Rise Technologies \ Schaeffler Group \ Starrag \ Schaeffler Sondermaschinenbau \ SIG Combibloc Systems \ Syntegon
... and other family businesses in DACH
\ About us \ Contact
Wir freuen uns auf Ihre Nachricht

(c) MAI Advisory Partners
Gollierstrasse 25 \ 80339 Muenchen
Contact details are shown to humans only — verified via Cloudflare Turnstile.
This page was created in collaboration with AI: text and design; purchased photos and videos excepted. llms.txt
MAI Advisory Partners is a registered trademark of
ISTARIUM Consulting Group GmbH
Gollierstr. 25, 80339 Munich
Registered office of the company is Munich
Managing Director Michael Mai
Local Court Munich, HRB 234994
VAT ID Number DE 314866417 Responsible i.S.d. §5 TMG / §55 RStV:
ISTARIUM Consulting Group GmbH, represented by the Managing Director Michael Mai
Contact:
Phone:
Information according to § 36 VSBG:
Sources for the images used
Own image material, Pixabay, iStockphoto
General Terms and Conditions of MAI Advisory Partners (GTC):
Link: AGB MAI Advisory Partners
Liability for content
The content of our website has been created with the utmost care. However, we cannot assume any liability for the accuracy, completeness and topicality of the content. As a service provider, we are responsible for our own content on these pages in accordance with § 7 para.1 TMG (German Telemedia Act) and general laws. According to §§ 8 to 10 TMG, however, we as a service provider are not obliged to monitor transmitted or stored third-party information or to investigate circumstances that indicate illegal activity. Obligations to remove or block the use of information in accordance with general legislation remain unaffected by this. However, liability in this respect is only possible from the time of knowledge of a specific infringement. As soon as we become aware of such infringements, we will remove this content immediately.
Liability for links
Our website contains links to external third-party websites over whose content we have no influence. Therefore, we cannot accept any liability for this third-party content. The respective provider or operator of the pages is always responsible for the content of the linked pages. The linked pages were checked for possible legal violations at the time of linking. Illegal content was not recognizable at the time of linking. However, permanent monitoring of the content of the linked pages is not reasonable without concrete evidence of an infringement. If we become aware of any legal infringements, we will remove such links immediately.
Copyright
The content and works created or used by the site operators on these pages are subject to German copyright law. Duplication, processing, distribution and any kind of exploitation outside the limits of copyright law require the consent of the respective author or creator. Downloads and copies of this site are not permitted for private or commercial use. Insofar as the content on this site was not created by the operator, the copyrights of third parties are respected. In particular, third-party content is identified as such. Should you nevertheless become aware of a copyright infringement, please inform us accordingly. If we become aware of any infringements, we will remove such content immediately.
Privacy Policy
Last updated: 26 August 2026
This is a translation for your convenience. The German version of this privacy policy is the binding one.
This policy applies to all websites and brands of ISTARIUM Consulting Group GmbH — in particular istarium.eu, mai-advisory.com and aiee.eu (AI Enabled Executive, AIEE). The controller is the same company in every case; “Mai Advisory”, “MAI Advisory Partners” and “AI Enabled Executive” are brands, not separate companies.
1. Controller and contact
The controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is:
ISTARIUM Consulting Group GmbH
Gollierstr. 25, 80339 Munich, Germany
represented by its managing director Michael Mai
Munich Local Court, HRB 234994 · VAT ID DE 314866417
Data protection enquiries: privacy@istarium.com
General contact: see the legal notice on this page.
We have not appointed a data protection officer; the conditions of Sec. 38 BDSG are not met.
Competent supervisory authority: Bavarian Data Protection Authority (BayLDA), Promenade 27, 91522 Ansbach, Germany.
2. Scope
This policy covers
- the use of our websites and landing pages,
- our business communication by email, telephone and in video conferences,
- the maintenance of our business contact directory,
- the delivery of our programmes and engagements,
- application procedures.
It does not cover third-party websites we link to. The respective providers alone are responsible for processing there.
3. Principles
We process personal data only where this is necessary for a specific purpose, and only on one of the legal bases listed in section 4. We do not sell data and do not pass it on to third parties for advertising purposes. Where we use service providers, we do so on the basis of a data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR (section 12).
4. Legal bases at a glance
| Legal basis | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| Art. 6(1)(a) — consent | recording of video conferences, retaining application documents beyond the procedure |
| Art. 6(1)(b) — contract / pre-contractual | proposals, engagements, programme participation, application procedures |
| Art. 6(1)(c) — legal obligation | commercial and tax retention duties (Sec. 257 HGB, Sec. 147 AO) |
| Art. 6(1)(f) — legitimate interest | operation and security of the website, contact directory and correspondence, prevention of misuse |
You may withdraw any consent at any time with effect for the future (Art. 7(3) GDPR) — informally to privacy@istarium.com.
5. Use of our websites
5.1 Hosting and server log files
Our websites are operated at ALL-INKL.COM – Neue Medien Münnich, owner René Münnich, Hauptstraße 68, 02742 Friedersdorf, Germany. When a page is called up, data sent by your browser is transmitted automatically and stored in log files:
- IP address of the requesting device,
- date and time of access,
- name and URL of the file retrieved,
- volume of data transferred and notification of successful retrieval,
- browser type and version, operating system, referrer URL.
This processing is necessary to deliver the page, ensure its stability and security and detect attacks. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. Log files are deleted after 7 days unless they are needed longer to investigate a specific security incident.
We additionally evaluate these log files in aggregated, statistical form (page views, referring pages, device types) in order to improve our offering. The evaluation runs on our own systems. No cookies are set, no tracking pixel is loaded and no third-party analytics service is embedded for this purpose.
5.2 Cloudflare and Cloudflare Turnstile
We use services of Cloudflare, Inc. (EU representative: Cloudflare Germany GmbH, Munich) to deliver our pages securely and to fend off automated access. Your IP address is transmitted to Cloudflare and processed there to detect attacks. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (secure provision of our offering).
Cloudflare Turnstile checks whether an input originates from a human. We use it to protect our contact details and forms against automated harvesting and misuse. To do so, Turnstile evaluates technical characteristics of your browser and of your behaviour on the page. No advertising cookies are set and no profiles are created.
5.3 Cookies and similar technologies
We use strictly necessary cookies and storage entries only, so that the site works (session management, security and protection functions). The legal basis is Sec. 25(2) TDDDG in conjunction with Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR.
We do not use consent-requiring cookies, advertising or analytics services — which is why we do not operate a consent banner. Should this change, we will obtain your consent beforehand (Sec. 25(1) TDDDG, Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR).
5.4 Contacting us via form, email or telephone
If you contact us, we process the details you provide — name, contact data and the content of your enquiry — in order to handle it. When you use our contact form, the details are transmitted to our mailbox over an encrypted connection; you receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR where the enquiry concerns a contract, otherwise Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (handling enquiries addressed to our company).
Your enquiry and our reply then become part of our business correspondence and, where there is a business context, of our contact directory (section 7).
5.5 Registering for our programmes
If you register for one of our programmes via the order form, we process your details (name, company, billing and contact data, chosen tariff) in order to handle the registration and perform the contract. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, and additionally Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR for invoicing and retention.
5.6 Verification of confirmations of participation
For our programmes we issue a confirmation of participation carrying a verification number. Our verification page allows the authenticity of a confirmation to be checked using that number; name, programme and period of participation are displayed. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR — verifiability is part of the confirmation itself. Access is impossible without the verification number; no directory of participants can be retrieved. On request we will remove your entry from the verification page.
5.7 AI Project Self-Check and email series
On our page aiee.eu/en/selfcheck/ (German: aiee.eu/selbstcheck/) you can assess an AI initiative for yourself along ten questions. We process your answers and the description of your initiative solely within the running page request in order to display your result. They are neither stored nor passed to third parties; the processing ends when you close the page. You can print the result yourself or save it as a PDF.
If you would also like to receive the blank sheet as a PDF and the scoring keys by email, you enter your email address. What is then stored is exclusively your email address, the score reached and — where present — the three-character campaign code from the address you called up. The individual answers are expressly not part of it. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR, as you have ordered this delivery.
In addition you may subscribe to the email series “Where does the number come from?” via a separate checkbox that is empty by default. That is a decision of its own and is not required in order to receive the sheet. The legal basis for it is your consent under Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR in conjunction with Sec. 7(2) no. 2 UWG.
Confirmation procedure (double opt-in): after submitting you receive an email with a confirmation link. Only your click on it creates the contact; it also shows that the address is yours and covers both of the operations named above. The time of sign-up, the time of confirmation and the IP address used are logged as proof of consent (Art. 7(1) GDPR). Where confirmation does not follow, we send one reminder and then erase the address.
Withdrawal: every email in the series carries an unsubscribe link; one click is enough and takes effect for the future. You may equally write to us at privacy@istarium.com. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out up to that point.
For dispatch and administration of the mailing lists we use Brevo as a processor (sections 6 and 12); the processing takes place within the European Union. Neither a script nor a tracking pixel from Brevo is embedded in our pages — the form sits on our own server, and only our server passes the details named above to Brevo. Simply visiting the self-check page transmits no data to Brevo.
6. External services and platforms
| Service | Purpose | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| ALL-INKL.COM / Neue Medien Münnich | operation of the websites, email dispatch | (f) |
| Cloudflare / Cloudflare, Inc. | delivery, bot protection, Turnstile | (f) |
| Microsoft 365 / Microsoft Ireland Operations Ltd. | email, calendar, contacts, documents | (b) / (f) |
| Microsoft Teams and Zoom / Zoom Communications Inc. | holding video conferences | (b) or (f) |
| LinkedIn / LinkedIn Ireland Unlimited Company | company presence and contact | (f) |
| Xing / New Work SE | company presence and contact | (f) |
| Brevo / Sendinblue SAS | dispatch and administration of our mailing lists, double opt-in and consent log (section 5.7) | (b) / (a) |
| Anthropic PBC | AI-assisted processing of our correspondence and contact data (section 7) | (f) |
| STACKIT / STACKIT GmbH & Co. KG | server operation in Germany and the language models provided there (section 7) | (b) / (f) |
| Amazon Web Services / Amazon Web Services EMEA SARL | computing capacity and the language models provided there (section 7) | (b) / (f) |
| Hetzner Online GmbH | server operation in Germany for our application and programme environments, among them the AI-Enabled Executive Programme | (b) / (f) |
No content or buttons of these networks are embedded in our websites — simply visiting our pages transmits no data to LinkedIn, Xing, Microsoft or Zoom.
On our presence in professional networks: if you visit our company pages on LinkedIn or Xing, the operators process your data under their own responsibility and produce aggregated statistics which they make available to us. We have no influence over that processing and receive no individual-level data. Insofar as we and the operator are joint controllers within the meaning of Art. 26 GDPR, the operator’s respective arrangements apply. For processing within your user account the operator alone is responsible.
Video conferences: when you take part, your name, access data and connection data are processed, and during the conversation also image and sound. Recordings are made only if we inform you beforehand and you agree.
7. Business contacts and correspondence (AI-assisted)
This section does not concern the use of our websites but the ongoing processing within our business relationships.
7.1 What data we process
- Contact and organisational data: name, company, function, business email address, business telephone number, address and profile information from professional networks.
- Communication data: business emails, conversation and call notes, appointment details as well as the occasion and outcome of a contact.
- Our own notes and dictations: records we make for ourselves about a conversation, an appointment or a matter which may contain information about you (for example: who was spoken to, what it was about, what was agreed). We convert voice notes into text for this purpose.
7.2 When we write to you for the first time — where your data comes from
If you receive a message from us for the first time without having given us your data yourself, the following applies (information pursuant to Art. 14 GDPR):
Your business contact data originates from previous contact with you (email, telephone, appointment, business card), from professional networks in which you have published your professional details, from referrals and recommendations by third parties, or from publicly accessible sources such as company websites and legal notices (Art. 14(2)(f) GDPR).
We keep it in our business contact directory and process our correspondence with you with AI assistance in order to assign and retrieve matters — without assessing you as a person and without automated decisions (7.4). The legal basis is our legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR).
You may object and request erasure at any time: privacy@istarium.com.
7.3 Purposes and legal bases
The purpose is the organisation, maintenance and retrievability of our business contacts and correspondence, as well as initiating, performing and following up business relationships.
- Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR for maintaining the contact directory and handling correspondence. Our legitimate interest is to organise business relationships properly, to retrieve matters and to assign contacts correctly. This corresponds to the customary use of a contact and customer management system.
- Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR insofar as the processing serves to initiate or perform a contract with you or your company.
- Art. 6(1)(c) GDPR in conjunction with Sec. 257 HGB and Sec. 147 AO for correspondence subject to statutory retention duties.
7.4 Use of artificial intelligence
To process the data listed in 7.1 we use an AI-assisted system — comparable to the AI functions of common contact and customer management systems. Specifically, we use it to
- capture and structure incoming messages, notes and voice recordings and assign them to the right contact or matter,
- detect duplicates and keep contact details up to date,
- derive tasks and appointments from correspondence and notes,
- make the records searchable, including by subject-matter context and not only by exact search terms,
- produce aggregated evaluations of our own records (for example: how many contacts are assigned to an industry, when contact last occurred).
The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR. The AI does not replace a decision about you; it performs the sorting and assignment work that would otherwise be done by hand.
What we expressly do not do:
- We do not create assessments, scores or rankings regarding your person, your behaviour or your commercial attractiveness.
- We do not enrich your data with information from external data sources in order to build a more comprehensive profile.
- There is no automated decision-making, including profiling, within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR. Decisions about making contact or entering a business relationship are taken exclusively by humans.
- Your data is not used to train AI models. This is contractually agreed with the providers we use.
- We honour confidentiality obligations. Content covered by a contractual confidentiality obligation (e.g. under a non-disclosure agreement) is detected automatically and redacted or excluded before any AI-assisted processing; it is not transmitted to an AI provider and is not processed there.
Language models used: we use models from Anthropic PBC as well as models made available to us via STACKIT (data centres in Germany) and Amazon Web Services (EU region). Which model is used depends on the task at hand; the requirements of this section apply to all of them alike.
The contact directory is stored permanently on systems operated by ourselves in Germany (Hetzner Online, STACKIT).
8. Applications
If you apply to us, we process the documents and details you submit exclusively in order to conduct the application procedure. The legal basis is Sec. 26(1) BDSG in conjunction with Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR.
If no employment results, we delete the documents six months after the procedure ends; this period serves to defend against possible claims under the German General Equal Treatment Act (AGG). If you would like us to keep your documents for future positions, we will obtain your separate consent.
9. Recipients of your data
Within our company, only those persons have access who need it to fulfil the purposes stated. Beyond that we pass data on to:
- processors under Art. 28 GDPR (sections 6 and 12),
- professional advisers and public authorities, insofar as we are legally obliged to do so (for example tax advisers, tax authorities).
Data is neither disclosed for advertising purposes nor sold.
10. Transfers to third countries
Some of the services used process data outside the EU/EEA, in particular in the United States:
| Service | Location | Safeguard |
|---|---|---|
| Anthropic PBC | USA | Standard Contractual Clauses (Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/914, Modules 2 and 3) together with supplementary measures |
| Cloudflare, Inc. | USA | EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses |
| Zoom Communications Inc. | USA | EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses |
| Microsoft | EU, with possible access from third countries | Standard Contractual Clauses, EU Data Boundary |
| Amazon Web Services | EU region, with possible access from third countries | EU-US Data Privacy Framework and Standard Contractual Clauses |
Hetzner Online and STACKIT operate data centres exclusively in Germany; no transfer to third countries takes place there. Brevo processes the data of our mailing lists within the European Union; no transfer to third countries takes place there either.
Anthropic is not certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework; the transfer relies exclusively on the Standard Contractual Clauses. You can obtain a copy of the agreed safeguards at privacy@istarium.com.
Despite these safeguards it cannot be ruled out that authorities in the recipient country access the data. We therefore transfer only what is necessary for the respective purpose.
11. Retention periods
| Type of data | Period |
|---|---|
| Server log files | 7 days |
| Enquiries via form, email or telephone | until finally dealt with; thereafter under the rules for contact data and correspondence |
| Contacts with whom business contact has taken place | for as long as our legitimate interest in the traceability of the business relationship and in possible future cooperation persists; at most for the duration of statutory retention duties |
| Contacts without business contact | erasure as soon as it is foreseeable that no business relationship will come about, at the latest three years after collection |
| Business correspondence subject to retention duties | 6 or 10 years (Sec. 257 HGB, Sec. 147 AO), then erasure |
| Details relating to confirmations of participation | for as long as the confirmation must remain verifiable, at most until you object |
| Self-check: answers and the initiative described | no storage — they exist for the duration of the page request alone |
| Mailing lists (address, score, campaign code) | until your withdrawal or unsubscribe. Unconfirmed addresses are erased after one reminder. The proof of consent is kept for a further three years after the entry ends (limitation period) |
| Application documents | six months after the procedure ends |
| Content transmitted to the AI provider | 30 days; content flagged as suspicious for security reasons up to two years |
| Backup copies | within our backup cycles, no longer than three years; no further processing, erasure when the backup period expires |
12. Processing on our behalf
With all the service providers listed in section 6 that process personal data on our behalf we have concluded agreements under Art. 28 GDPR. These oblige them to process the data exclusively on our instructions and within the agreed scope, and to take appropriate technical and organisational measures.
13. Data security
We take technical and organisational measures to protect your data against loss, alteration and unauthorised access — in particular transport encryption (TLS) on our websites, access restrictions on a need-to-know basis, encrypted backup copies and continuous updating of the systems in use. Our measures are continuously adapted to the state of the art.
14. Your rights
You have the right to
- access to the data processed about you (Art. 15),
- rectification of inaccurate data (Art. 16),
- erasure (Art. 17),
- restriction of processing (Art. 18),
- data portability (Art. 20),
- withdrawal of consent with effect for the future (Art. 7(3)),
- lodging a complaint with a supervisory authority (Art. 77). The authority competent for us is the Bavarian Data Protection Authority (BayLDA), Promenade 27, 91522 Ansbach, Germany.
An informal message to privacy@istarium.com is sufficient. We reply within one month; where a request is complex, we may extend the period by up to two months and will inform you accordingly.
14.1 Right to object
You have the right to object at any time, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data carried out on the basis of Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (Art. 21(1) GDPR). We will then no longer process your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
You may object to being approached for advertising purposes at any time and without giving reasons (Art. 21(2) GDPR); such an objection applies without exception.
14.2 Erasure, restriction and suppression list
If you request erasure of your data, we remove it from our active systems without undue delay, at the latest within 30 days — unless a statutory retention duty or compelling legitimate grounds on our part stand in the way. Where such an exception applies, we do not erase but restrict processing (Art. 18 GDPR): your data is then merely stored and no longer actively used. We inform you of this within the same period and give reasons.
So that an objection remains permanently effective, we store a non-reversible identifier of your email address or telephone number. It prevents your data from being recreated by a later automatic import from email, telephone system or address book, and serves this purpose alone.
Where we have passed your data on to a service we use (for example Microsoft 365), we arrange for erasure there as well.
15. No automated decision-making
Automated decision-making including profiling within the meaning of Art. 22 GDPR does not take place. This also applies to the use of artificial intelligence described in section 7.
16. Obligation to provide data
Providing your data is neither required by law nor by contract. Without the details necessary for a contract, however, we cannot conclude or perform a contract with you.
17. Changes to this policy
We adapt this policy when our processing or the legal situation changes. The version published on this page at the relevant time applies.


