Insights · October 2026

Vincency Insights

Expert articles by the three Vincency co-founders on the current state of their disciplines: AI integration, law and compliance, GEO and AI visibility, brand identity, web design and photo/video production. Written for decision-makers in the B2B mid-market.

Looking for delivery rather than analysis? Go straight to IT strategy consulting, web design for mid-sized companies or digital projects in the Rhine-Main region.

65 of 65 articles

Law & Compliance·2026-10-20·14 min read

Switching charges under the Data Act: what applies when changing cloud and SaaS providers from 12 January 2027

From 12 January 2027, providers of cloud and SaaS services may no longer charge for switching, including for transferring the data (Article 29 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854). Standard service fees until the contract ends, proportionate early termination penalties and cost-based charges for parallel use remain allowed. The Digital Omnibus proposal leaves the ban untouched, and Germany’s list of fines does not name Article 29 itself.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-10-14·14 min read

Digital instructions under the Machinery Regulation: what applies from 20 January 2027 and why your website becomes part of the machine

From 20 January 2027 the instructions for use of new machinery may be digital, under three conditions in Article 10(7) of Regulation (EU) 2023/1230: an access notice on the machine, a download that can be printed and saved, and availability for the machine’s lifetime, at least ten years. Paper remains mandatory on request at purchase, Germany requires German, and the German implementing act sets fines of up to 10,000 euros.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Web Design & Development·2026-10-11·14 min read

Accessibility for B2B websites: one question decides whether the BFSG applies to you, and since September the benchmark for your next relaunch is fixed

A pure B2B company website is not covered by Germany’s Accessibility Strengthening Act. As soon as a consumer can conclude a contract through the website, the Act applies to the entire site, with fines of up to 100,000 euros. What the joint market surveillance authority of the German states has been checking since January 2026, why the transition period to 2030 protects no website, and why every relaunch should target WCAG 2.2 since EN 301 549 V4.1.1 appeared on 2 September 2026.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Strategy & Market·2026-10-07·12 min read

What does AI implementation cost in the mid-market? The bill does not start at the licence

Anyone searching for AI implementation costs usually budgets the wrong line item. A representative Bitkom survey of 603 companies shows: the biggest cost block is not the licence (21 percent) but infrastructure (51 percent), data preparation (50 percent) and integration into existing systems (41 percent). The honest bill has five lines.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Strategy & Market·2026-10-05·11 min read

AI flat rate for companies: what the term actually covers, what the three models cost and when each pays off

Anyone searching for an AI flat rate gets offered three different products: a training subscription from 79 euros a month, platform access with seat prices of 10 to 99 euros per user, or a true flat fee with unlimited users. The decisive difference is not the price but the billing unit, and most offers are not a flat rate at all.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-10-04·12 min read

EU Digital Omnibus: what the simplification package changes in the AI Act, who gains relief as a small mid-cap and why waiting is still risky

The AI part of the Digital Omnibus has been in force since 27 July 2026 as Regulation (EU) 2026/1744. The AI Act’s high-risk duties start later, but on fixed dates: 2 December 2027 for Annex III, 2 August 2028 for Annex I. Small mid-caps (fewer than 750 employees and a turnover of at most EUR 150 million or a balance sheet total of at most EUR 129 million) get the simplified documentation of SMEs. What changed, what still applies and why finished compliance plans still do not belong in the drawer.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Strategy & Market·2026-10-02·12 min read

IT strategy consulting in Stuttgart and Baden-Württemberg: what an engagement must deliver, what the market offers and why the consultant’s postcode is the wrong question

Searching for IT strategy consulting in Baden-Württemberg lands you in a dense market. 99 percent of the state’s nearly 500,000 companies are Mittelstand, yet consulting quality depends on the deliverable, not the commute. Five deliverables, three red flags and the honest answer on location.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Strategy & Market·2026-10-01·11 min read

HubSpot onboarding for mid-market companies: do it yourself, buy it from HubSpot or hire a partner, and what the mandatory fee really decides

From the Professional edition upward, HubSpot onboarding is mandatory and costs a one-time fee of 1,500 to 7,000 US dollars. A certified Solutions Partner can have this fee waived, because HubSpot grants partners a waiver of up to 6,000 dollars per client. The real question is not whether onboarding happens, but who delivers it.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-30·13 min read

Machinery Regulation meets Cyber Resilience Act: two regulations, one interface, and why the cyber duty has applied since September

From 20 January 2027 the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies with explicit cyber-safety requirements for the first time, while the CRA has required active reporting since 11 September 2026. For machines with digital elements both obligation books run through the same lifecycle.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-19·13 min read

NIS2 incident reporting: 24 hours from the moment you know — a duty the fine catalogue names directly

Section 32 BSIG gives every important and essential entity three deadlines: 24 hours for the early warning, 72 hours for the incident notification, one month after that notification for the final report; the first two are due without undue delay, the hours are only the outer limit. What counts as a significant security incident, where the report goes — and why a missed deadline, unlike the management duty, actually sits in the fine catalogue of Section 65.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-18·13 min read

NIS2 and the management body: what you personally stand to lose — money, office, and a training duty the BSI may audit

Section 38 BSIG places implementation and supervision of cyber risk management on the management body — and points its liability to company law. What managing directors actually risk: internal liability under Section 38(2), suspension from office under Section 61(9) and a personal fine via Section 9 OWiG, although the fine catalogue of Section 65 does not even name the provision.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-17·13 min read

Your biggest customer’s NIS2 questionnaire: eight pages, three weeks to respond — and almost none of it is a legal obligation of yours

Section 30(2) no. 4 of the BSIG obliges regulated companies to secure their supply chain — a half-sentence that names neither questionnaire, nor audit, nor certificate. What your customer actually has to evidence, which passages you should not sign, and how an honest answer becomes a sales argument.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-16·14 min read

EU Deadlines at the End of 2026: Eight Dates from 11 September to 20 January

Between 11 September 2026 and 20 January 2027, eight EU dates matter to the mid-market: the CRA reporting duty, the Data Act, the Machinery Regulation penalty notification, the end of the AI Act marking transition, the new product liability, e-invoicing, the end of cloud switching charges and the full application of Regulation 2023/1230. What each date actually changes, who it hits, and which three emails are due now.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

AI Integration·2026-09-15·13 min read

Shadow AI: two-thirds of surveyed AI users at large companies believe they are breaking policy. The numbers, the legal position, and the way out for leadership

78 percent of AI users bring their own tools, nearly 90 percent of logins to AI tools bypass identity management, and 66 percent of surveyed AI users at companies with at least 500 million US dollars in revenue believe they are breaking policy. What leaves the building, which duties have sat on management since the AI Act, and why provisioning is cheaper than prohibition.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-11·14 min read

The Machinery Regulation from 20 January 2027: When a Software Update Makes You the Manufacturer

On 20 January 2027 the Machinery Directive is repealed and Regulation (EU) 2023/1230 applies with no general transition period. Article 3(3) counts software expressly as a safety component for the first time, and under Article 18 anyone making a substantial modification is treated as the manufacturer. Yet two sub-paragraphs in Article 3(16) keep the great majority of updates outside that rule.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

Law & Compliance·2026-09-07·14 min read

NIS2 in the German mid-market: by 30 September 2026 the BSI counted 20,141 registered entities, the legislator budgeted for around 30,000. The gap sits mainly with important entities

As of 30 September 2026, 20,141 entities were registered with the German BSI, 13,252 of them important entities. The legislator calculated with roughly 21,600 important entities. Set the two figures against each other and almost 40 percent are missing, precisely in the size band from 50 employees upwards. What Annex 2 of the BSIG has to do with mechanical engineering, why the duty lands on management personally, and what remains of the widely quoted fines once you read them properly.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

GEO & AI Visibility·2026-09-04·14 min read

Google Search Console and Bing AI Performance: What the Reports Measure Since 31 August 2026 – and Why Google Hides Clicks

Google completed the global rollout of its Search Console Generative AI performance report on 31 August 2026. It reports impressions, devices, and pages — while withholding clicks, CTR, and specific user prompts. Bing Webmaster Tools reports citations and grounding queries, but with a much smaller search share. What these numbers mean for B2B mid-market firms and how to measure true AI visibility without recurring dashboard fees.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems

AI Models & Releases·2026-09-02·13 min

Claude Fable 5.1 is here: three changes break existing integrations, one price line halves the gap to the standard model

Anthropic released Fable 5.1 on 1 September 2026. The benchmarks are the headline; for a system already in production they are the least important part. What counts: three breaking changes with their exact error messages, a cutoff date that creates two classes of account, the cache price that turns the maths around, and a price increase quietly called off.

Michael Kaiser

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Co-Founder & Head of Systems