Small businesses that embrace the cloud achieve 25 percent additional revenue growth compared to cloud skeptics and more than double their profits, according to new research from Exact and Pb7 Research.

The report examines the business challenges that small wholesale distributors, manufacturers and accountants face on a daily basis, reasons for moving to the cloud and the business benefits gained once online business software is implemented. Exact is a developer of cloud software. Pb7 Research is a global technology research firm.

The research found that U.S. small businesses use more online business software compared to their peers in France, Germany, the Netherlands, the U.K., and Belgium. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed in the U.S. use some kind of cloud software, and 29 percent use three or more cloud applications to help run their businesses.

Security is the primary reason U.S. small businesses choose to implement online business software, followed by hopes to reduce technology costs, lower maintenance requirements and gain easy mobile access to critical business information. However, those who use cloud software have found ease-of-use, enhanced ability to find and share information and increased productivity as the top benefits actually experienced.

“Cloud usage among small businesses is exploding thanks to the tangible business value it has been proven to deliver,” said Kae Williams, general manager at Exact, U.S. Cloud Solutions. “With heavy cloud users reaping more profits and business growth than their cloud-hesitant peers, there’s little room for doubt that now is the time to use online business software. Cloud is no longer just for large enterprises. It’s for any company who wants to be competitive, efficient and provide stellar customer service.”

Among the key findings of the report from manufacturers in the U.S., nine percent of all contracts results in a negative margin. Twenty-seven percent of customers don’t come back when a delivery is late. Small manufacturers walk away from 11 percent of all RFPs because they are unable to deliver a quote in time. Only 26 percent of manufacturers always want to have the latest technology in place.

Among distributors, 12 percent report having one of their suppliers regularly run out of materials, and nearly half sometimes have delayed deliveries directly due to supplier inventory issues. Thirty percent of customers will not purchase again from a wholesaler who was late with a delivery. Only 17 percent of wholesalers get automatic alerts when stock is low; 47 percent know the exact location of every item in the warehouse; and 28 percent have real-time insight into the stocks and delivery times of suppliers.