Three months after it entered the Web hosting business, MYOB has acquired established Web hosting business SmartyHost.

SmartyHost claims to have registered more than 67,000 domains for consumer and business customers.

MYOB CEO Tim Reed said the acquisition represents a further evolution of the company’s business and means it will be able to assist small businesses even more.

“Our overarching strategy is to Web enable Australian small businesses,” Reed said. “We want to make the first step – establishing a Web site – more appealing to more business owners. We also plan to help business owners leverage the Internet to ‘rewire’ their customer and supplier interactions and other core business processes.”

SmartyHost offers a variety of Web and e-mail hosting packages, including e-commerce hosting, but the company has received criticism over its level of customer support.

“Our research shows that 59 percent of Australian small businesses don’t currently have a Web site,” Reed said. “Through the acquisition of SmartyHost we can now deliver a basic Web site and domain name package to Australian businesses starting from under $100 per year.”

MYOB has pledged to retain the SmartyHost brand, which it sees as a “compelling choice for start-up and micro businesses”.