For many engineering organisations, CoolOrange PowerJobs was the first real step into automation.
It solved an important problem: repetitive manual tasks in Autodesk Vault, scripted exports and background processing, and basic workflow automation.
For a long time, that was enough.
But as engineering teams scale, integrate more systems, and demand reliability, a hard reality sets in:
PowerJobs has reached the limits of what it was designed to do.
That's why many PowerJobs customers are now upgrading to MinuteView Automations.
PowerJobs Is an Extension. MinuteView Is a Platform.
PowerJobs is fundamentally built on top of the Autodesk Vault Job Processor.
That architecture brings unavoidable constraints:
- Desktop-style execution
- Logged-in user sessions
- Persistent service accounts
- Single-threaded job processing
- Machine-by-machine configuration
MinuteView takes a completely different approach. It is a fully headless automation engine, designed from day one to run as a server service, not a desktop workaround.
This architectural difference changes everything.
No More Logged-In Sessions. No More Fragility.
If you've run PowerJobs long enough, you've likely seen:
- Jobs stop because a session logged out
- Failures after Windows updates
- Locked user profiles
- "It worked yesterday" behaviour
MinuteView eliminates this entire class of problems.
Automations run without a logged-in user, execute under managed service accounts, start with the server, and run continuously and predictably.
This alone is often the single biggest reason customers upgrade.
Parallel Processing Without More Hardware
PowerJobs executes one job per job processor. To achieve parallelism, organisations typically deploy more PCs, install more job processors, and increase maintenance and licensing overhead.
Some customers run 20–30 job processor machines just to keep up.
MinuteView runs workflows in parallel by design.
That means:
- Multiple automations executing at once
- No additional machines
- Faster throughput
- Dramatically reduced infrastructure
The automation load scales, not the hardware footprint.
Calculate how much you could save by replacing multiple job processors
Centralised Automation, Not Script Sprawl
With PowerJobs, scripts live on individual machines, configuration drift is common, updates must be manually deployed, and debugging is fragmented.
MinuteView provides:
- Centralised workflow management
- Version-controlled automations
- Automatic distribution to execution services
- One source of truth
Operationally, this is a major step forward for IT and engineering teams alike.
From Script-Only to Low-Code (Without Losing Power)
PowerJobs assumes PowerShell proficiency, deep Autodesk Vault API knowledge, and a small group of specialist maintainers.
MinuteView introduces a low-code, drag-and-drop automation canvas.
This allows CAD managers, power users, and IT teams to build and maintain automations visually, without writing code.
And when you do need custom logic? MinuteView includes a full PowerShell environment—with the same depth PowerJobs users expect.
Low-code by default. Full code when required.
See how much time visual automation can save your team
Automation Is Just the Beginning
PowerJobs is strictly an automation tool.
MinuteView goes further by adding:
- Capture workflows (human-in-the-loop)
- Web-based reviews and approvals
- Live markup
- Notifications and governance
These capabilities fundamentally change how engineering teams collaborate—not just how files are processed.
PowerJobs was never designed to do this.
API-First Automation for Modern Systems
MinuteView exposes an open automation API:
- REST GET triggers
- POST-based workflow execution
- File-based triggers
- External system integration
This allows ERP systems to trigger Vault workflows, external applications to update Vault data, and event-driven enterprise automation.
PowerJobs was built for internal Vault events. MinuteView is built for connected systems.
Built for the Way Engineering Works Today
Engineering environments today are distributed, integrated, always-on, and under pressure to deliver faster.
MinuteView is designed for:
- Server-grade reliability
- Scalable execution
- Enterprise security models
- Long-term automation maturity
PowerJobs inherits the constraints of the Vault Job Processor. MinuteView removes them entirely.
The Upgrade Isn't a Rip-and-Replace
Most customers don't upgrade because PowerJobs "failed".
They upgrade because:
- It can't scale further
- It's fragile to operate
- It limits who can build automations
- It can't support broader workflows
MinuteView allows organisations to move forward without losing capability, gain reliability and scale, and expand beyond task automation.
PowerJobs Was the First Step. MinuteView Is the Next One.
PowerJobs helped many teams start automating.
MinuteView is what enables:
- Enterprise-grade automation
- Headless execution
- Parallel processing
- Low-code accessibility
- System-wide integration
If your organisation has outgrown PowerJobs, or if you're spending more time managing job processors than improving workflows, it's time to explore what MinuteView can do.
Explore the impact of upgrading: