As the embodiment of the digital twin for Industry 4.0, the Asset Administration Shell (AAS) facilitates standardized data exchange throughout the entire production lifecycle. However, despite the hype surrounding the AAS, its industrial application is still in its infancy. Especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) the variety of implementation possibilities, use cases, and the prevailing IT infrastructure can pose challenges. Successfully navigating their digital transformation in this landscape requires methodical approaches, digital collaboration, and leveraging best practices so companies can carefully manage the transition from hype to tangible results, considering their company characteristics and specific requirements. With a focus on data management systems (DMS), this research shows where the AAS finds its use cases in the context of the prevailing IT infrastructure of (SME) companies, how it can be integrated into the existing and running systems, and finally how companies can gain added value from the application of the AAS as an enabler of the associated digitization, using the example of a medium-sized company from the mechanical engineering industry.