Cloud computing is making a new step towards the already old vision of utility computing of seamless delivery of computing, storage or networks as measurable consumables. However, completely automated processes are not yet in place, and human intervention is still required. This paper intends to provide a snapshot of the current status in the automated processes happening in the Cloud. Moreover, a special attention is given to a recent developed platform-as-a-service that was designed to be an open-source and deployable middleware: ensuring the portability of applications based on elastic components and consuming infrastructure services, it is a good example of the potential of automated procedures in a Cloud environment.