https://doi.org/10.1177/2043886919899407 Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases 2020, Vol. 10(1) 29–34 © Association for Information Technology Trust 2020 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/2043886919899407 Journals.sagepub.com/jittc JITTC Introduction Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are vital to national economies worldwide because they increase employment and innovation opportunities (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2017). Digitalization is a promising option to enable SMEs to compete in increas- ingly competitive businesses. Customer-driven decision-mak- ing and the exponential advancement of information systems and technology (IS&T), coupled with the traction data analyt- ics (DA) is getting, encourage SMEs to adopt the technology. Lack of resources and IS&T infrastructure are, however, typi- cal challenges for SMEs considering using DA. For this rea- son, many SMEs lag behind large companies in DA adoption. To fully realize optimum benefits from DA implementation, these challenges must be addressed. Multiple challenges typi- cally relate to data, processes and management (Sivarajah et al., 2017). To illustrate, a typical data challenge is related to the ethical means of obtaining and using relevant data. Issues with data processes add complexity to DA adoption. These challenges include data cleansing, data analysis and model- ling, and data interpretation. Organizational and management issues further challenge DA implementation, such as data governance and costs. Although the above challenges may occur in both large and small companies, the latter might encounter severe problems due to a lack of resources and expertise. SMEs need to carefully analyse and decide how to proceed with DA implementation to reap benefits from this technology. This case is of a real-world sports company based in Singapore. The company, The Cage (short for We want to be Footballers Pte Ltd (WWTBF Pte Ltd) and The Cage Sports Park Pte Ltd), is an SME currently looking to effectively analyse data to support its decision-making process. Implementation issues, though, stand in its way. By providing a real-world case of DA implementation in an SME, this case aims to present practical problems stu- dents would likely encounter in the workplace, and there- fore, provides a comprehensive understanding of real-world challenges and issues. This case expects stu- dents to (1) understand The Cage’s business problems and (2) recommend ways for The Cage to address its DA implementation challenges. Getting data analytics on board at The Cage Arif Perdana , Junaitha Gaffoor and Hwee Hoon Lee Abstract This case illustrates the challenges in implementing data analytics in a small and medium enterprise. A small and medium enterprise in Singapore, The Cage, runs a sports facilities rental business that has adopted basic data analytics and enjoyed the benefits data analytics offers. Since implementing enterprise resource planning in 2016 for their business processes, it now has readily available financial and customer data. Using available data from its enterprise resource planning system, The Cage now wants to incorporate more advanced data analytics into its decision-making process. While The Cage acknowledges the impact of data analytics on its business, it encounters practical challenges in the data lifecycle, namely, data discovery, data collection, analysis and modelling building, and data governance. Keywords Data analytics, small and medium enterprise, information systems adoption Singapore Institute of Technology, Singapore Corresponding author: Arif Perdana, Design & Specialised Businesses Cluster, Singapore Institute of Technology, 10 Dover Drive, Singapore 138683. Email: Arif.Perdana@Singaporetech.edu.sg 899407TTC Journal of Information Technology Teaching CasesPerdana et al. Teaching Case