SMBs in Latin and South America have been found to lead the pack when it comes to using cloud computing services, according to a survey conducted by IT management company Spiceworks.

And globally, by the first half of 2010, the survey results showed that 14 percent of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) said they had already used cloud computing services while another 10 percent had plans to deploy cloud-based services.

Spiceworks surveyed 1,500 SMB IT from 87 countries that use the free Spiceworks IT management software.

According to the results, 35 percent of SMBs in the Asia/Pacific region are also adopting cloud services. This is well ahead of the 24 percent of SMBs in North America and 19 percent in Europe.

The survey did not mention, however, how many SMB users from each region were interviewed as part of the 1,500.

It did find, however, that smaller SMBs are like to be more aggressive when it comes to cloud services adoption than their larger SMB counterparts.

Thirty-eight percent of SMBs with fewer than 20 employees said they use or plan to use cloud solutions in the next six months. This adoption rate is markedly higher than the 17 percent of organizations with between 20 and 99 and the 22 percent of organizations with more than 100 employees that use or plan to use cloud services over the same period according to Spiceworks co-founder and vice president Jay Hallberg.

"Small companies with little existing infrastructure and outsourced IT are moving most quickly to the cloud, whereas larger SMBs are taking more measured steps due to considerable investments in onsite technology," Hallberg said.

"With seven times as many users as the enterprise market, it's important for cloud service vendors to consider cloud service adoption patterns and to make it simple for SMBs to manage hybrid on-premise and cloud solutions."

Among vertical segments, technology companies are adopting cloud services at a faster pace. Thirty-four percent of SMBs in the tech sector use or are planning to use cloud services.

Companies in the services sector (e.g. finance, HR, consulting) make up the next fastest growing vertical segment with 22 percent using or planning to deploy cloud solutions.

Most other industries trail closely behind with 20 percent adoption rates.

Companies with 20-99 employees and typically one full-time IT pro on staff were found to be the least likely to move to cloud computing, along with companies in core industrial segments (manufacturing, aerospace, engineering) and social services (government, education, healthcare).