Hello.
If you are interested in an alternative to be able to automatically import/update products on schedule, you cam check Store Manager for Magento application with built-in Automated Product Import tool (works both with Magento 1 and Magento 2.x).
You can set up import to be running each predefined period of time. If you need it every hour, the first import should end before the second starts, if not, the second import will be put in the queue.
The solution is paid, however, this is one-time payment for life-time license and there are 3 editions to fit the needs of businesses of different sizes. You can download 14-day fully-functional version to check how to works.