1. A computer system, comprising the following: one or more processors; system memory; and one or more computer-readable storage media having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that are structured such that, when executed by the one or more processors, the computer-executable instructions cause the computing system to deploy a media processor on a virtual machine to process a media file, including at least the following: receiving, from a source remote system, a workflow that includes a workflow task that includes the identity of at least: the media processor, which includes functionality for processing the media file; an option specific to the media processor for configuring the media processor; and the media file, which is to be processed by the media processor on behalf of the source remote system; instantiating the virtual machine on hardware resources of a virtual machine host; instructing the virtual machine to execute an installation file for the media processor, resulting in the virtual machine installing the media processor on the virtual machine; instructing the installed media processor on the virtual machine to perform the processing of the identified media file using the identified option for configuring the media processor; receiving an indication that the media processor is to be updated to a different version of the media processor; and based at least upon receiving a request to process a subsequent workflow task that is dependent on the different version of the media processor, automatically performing at least the following: transferring a pending workflow task at the virtual machine to another media processor executing on another virtual machine; updating the installation file of the media processor on the virtual machine with an updated installation file containing the different version of the media processor; and installing the different version of the media processor on the virtual machine using the updated installation file.