THE CUTTING EDGE/TECHNOLOGY NEWS : AlphaBlox Names President-COO

Oracle Corp.’s Polly Sumner, a top executive at the database software maker, was named president and chief operating officer at AlphaBlox Corp., a provider of business analysis software over the Internet.

Sumner assumes a new position at AlphaBlox and will report to Chief Executive Michael Skok. Sumner, 44, was senior vice president of the telecommunications division at Oracle, the No. 1 maker of software for managing large databases.

“I wanted someone who could help us really build the business quickly,” Skok said. “The Internet companies that have succeeded have grown fast.”

Closely held AlphaBlox, founded in 1996 and based in Mountain View, Calif., sells software that helps companies analyze business data, such as payroll and customer orders, to cut costs and increase sales. AlphaBlox is generating sales growth in the double digits each quarter and had record sales last quarter, Skok said.

The company has no immediate plans to sell shares to the public, Skok said. Currently, the company has funding from venture capitalists Accel Partners as well as financing from Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co., Skok said. “We’ll time our IPO for when we think it’s appropriate for acquisitions or to raise capital,” Skok said. “Not a chance this year.”