Killer Application

What Is a Killer Application?

A killer application — or a killer app — is a software program with a UI perceived as imaginative enough to influence computing trends and sales. The term dates to the early development of personal computers and software during the 1980s, while accounting, database, and word-handling applications were first being developed for mass use.

The term "killer application" might be derived from the way that such an application was perceived to be adequately creative to conquer the competition and prod sales of the two applications and computers running operating systems sufficiently advanced to oblige the most recent innovations.

Figuring out Killer Applications

Killer applications can be instrumental in driving fast growth in sales of the platform on which they are based. They are typically a product or service that is a primary source of competitive advantage for a company. A prime model is iTunes, which assisted Apple Computer with defeating latency as a niche computer manufacturer to venture into the more extensive diversion markets. Other recent killer apps incorporate WhatsApp, Snapchat, and TikTok. You can see the could of their fame from the number of their users, the intensity of their utilization, and in some cases the valuation of the organizations behind them. While certain companies that foster killer applications can appreciate substantial edges and profits for a long time, this competitive advantage doesn't generally last for a really long time, and short product life cycles are the standard as opposed to the exception.

As businesses progressively adopted independent computers associated by neighborhood organizations or centralized servers, both computer and software manufacturers developed more advanced applications. They permitted users to execute tasks without having to know programming language or orders to save a file or send electronic communications. Over the long haul, applications, for example, Microsoft Word and Excel turned into the standard for businesses, eclipsing prior competition, for example, Word Perfect or Lotus 123. A comparative dynamic worked out as internet programs and email applications vied for users worldwide.

The Value of Killer Applications

Commonly, a killer application comprises such a beneficial feature that it drives sales and adoption of the platform on which it runs, like operating systems or specific gadgets. The value that the killer application brings to the client might even assistance other perceived shortcomings of the platform and can raise the switching cost for consumers to leave the platform, expanding longevity and brand loyalty. For instance, the well known Halo first-individual shooter game series is widely credited as the killer application that constructed the outcome of Microsoft's Xbox game control center. It was well known to such an extent that it generated the derivative term "Halo killer", which is intended to be a first-individual shooter sufficient to rival or unseat Halo.

In the modern economy, development and dependence upon killer applications reaches out past just technology and computing businesses or bridge the gap between pure tech businesses and more traditional goods and services. These are planned to drive sales and growth of the overall business "platform" similarly as killer apps generally have.

The omnipresence of cell phones and the "consistently on-consistently associated" culture means that products and industries from healthcare delivery to restaurant food service to wellness centers are seeking their own killer app to drive online and in-person traffic to their doorstep. These can incorporate everything from online sales and customer appointment planning to online social platforms for customers and downloadable apps that interface straightforwardly with a physical product. Utilizing or offering software that supplements the goods and services that a company gives is presently key to driving an unrivaled customer experience and competitive advantage.

Features

• A killer application is a feature or piece of software so great that it drives sales and growth of the overall platform or company, like leader products and brands in traditional industries.
• Killer applications can be a major source of competitive advantage, brand loyalty, and profitability for a company.
• In the modern economy, killer applications are looked for by a wide range of businesses across numerous industries past technology and computing.