According to a new report, 45 percent of organizations in the Asia Pacific are currently using or are planning to use cloud computing, compared to 22 percent that showed interested in the cloud a year ago.

Springboard Research said the figures, derived after interviewing 474 CIOs, IT and business managers in May this year, show that cloud computing is gaining awareness in the region.

Australian and New Zealand-based companies showed the most interest. (Springboard Research did not offer a geographic breakdown on respondents, so we could not tell how many of these were from this region.)

Small business showed the most interest, when interviewed by Springboard, but the research firm found that in most cases concerns about security still held companies back.

According to Springboard's report 54 percent of small-to-medium sized business in Asia Pacific said they use or are planning to use cloud-based solutions;36 percent of large organizations are interested in or already using cloud initiatives;49 percent of respondents view cloud mostly as a cost-saving measure and 23 percent say cloud will be a strategic investment in future.

Industries most interested in cloud in Asia Pac are: healthcare and retail while utilities, manufacturing and the government sector show the least interest in the cloud.