QlikTech has boosted the viability of the iPhone as a business tool with a mobile version of its QlikView business intelligence application specifically for users of the Apple device.

The company claims that QlikView for iPhone is the "first and only interactive business intelligence app for iPhone users", and uses integrated finger gestures that iPhone users will already be familiar with.

"Simple finger-swipes and finger-pinches enable users to select, interact and drill down into data," said QlikTech. "And to clear selections, all users have to do is shake the device."

Users will also be able to flick through business intelligence data in the same way they do album covers and artists in iTunes, according to the firm.

Anthony Deighton, product vice president at QlikTech, claimed that the new application is less rigid in its interface than Oracle's mobile business intelligence tool.

"Just posting a static report on a mobile screen, as Oracle's solution does, may be marginally helpful, but creates a tremendously frustrating user experience, leaving no opportunity to interact with the data," he said.

"With QlikView for iPhone, users get a mobile view of a relevant data subset, as well as access to the specific answers they seek."

QlikView for iPhone will also give users access to GPS capabilities to allow professionals to create location-aware reports, said the company.

The application will be provided as a free download from Apple's iPhone App Store.