As National Small Business Week 2005 begins today, a new report from Hostway Corporation finds small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) leading a "Stealth Revolution" powered by the ever-expanding use of the Web to manage and grow their businesses.

Hostway's report, "The SMB Stealth Revolution," is available for free and unlimited downloading at http://www.hostway.com/media/stealthrevolution .

The Web-powered SMB developments identified in Hostway's report go far beyond just the "wiring" of existing small enterprises.

Growing evidence points toward the emergence of an entirely new generation of highly targeted, niche-focused Web-centric SMBs. These firms not only leverage new technology, but they take advantage of increasing consumer willingness to make online purchases from small companies. This combination has enabled entrepreneurs to develop innovative, Web-based business models - and even includes the launch of companies that have found ways to counter the long-standing decline of U.S. manufacturing.

"The strategic use of technology is no longer just the domain of big enterprises," says John Lee, Hostway's vice president of marketing. "The rollout of new Web-delivered and Web-based services is accelerating. And as it happened with many earlier technologies like personal computers, desktop publishing, e-mail and e-commerce, innovative small businesses are in the vanguard of taking advantage of the new capabilities."