Steve Jobs had once famously said, “No idea is original”. Well, he is right to a certain extent. Sometimes you will spend a significant amount of your time and resources on an idea that you are really passionate about only to realize that it is something that has already been done before in some part of the world. When it comes to mobile applications, this situation is even dicier and in order to survive, it is important that innovation is the norm and have a team that thinks of ideas that are out of the box.

There are many things that cross your mind when you are thinking of an app. It cannot be possible that every thought that you have is unique. Your business strategy will implore you to come up with something that is unique and not stick to an idea that is already out there. The problem with that is that it is difficult to think about everything that is unique. There are some steps that you can follow in order to come up with something unique and not waste time and resources.

Let us start with the most basic. If you are creating an eCommerce app, then the first platforms you should check out for are Flipkart and Amazon. It is important to do extensive research on these platforms and study these websites intricately. The intricate study of these two platforms will also ensure that you understand the distinction (if any) between these two applications. Based on this research, you can then find out what ideas distinguish your application from the others.

The key to finding out if your app already exists is to keep research. Use the power of Google to ensure that the facts keep coming out.

The features that you are going to add to your application is what is going to give your app an individual identity. It also decides how successful your application is so you need to spend extra time in deciding what kind of features should go into your application. These features also need to be distinguished from other features from similar applications, in order to give yours a competitive edge.

When you are conducting research, it is important to move out of the comfort zone of popular search engines and deepen your research methodology. Use the help of sophisticated tools and employ more advanced research strategies to get deeper results.

Sometimes it can be demotivating when you find out that the application you are creating already exists. However, this should not deter you from creating the app. The idea could be similar to another application but it is the execution that is the key player in your success.

What is most important is that even if your app already exists, it is the unpredictable things that you can do that will give your application a distinguished identity. For example- if you are creating a game application, most of the game apps require a monthly subscription from the start. However, if you start on a free monthly period of subscription, this could give you the edge you are looking for.