Skyport Systems, the startup building a new secure server infrastructure for cloud applications, has appointed Art Gilliland as its new CEO.

Skyport received $30 million in Series B funding last April and launched its SkySecure product in May, when I wrote about why Skyport is hot. Not only is it a security company -- which automatically makes it hot -- but it has a unique approach to implement security at the server and chip levels, which few people are addressing.

In an interview at VMWorld last week, prior to the announcement, Gilliland told me that with security concerns growing, security can be a driver for the next investment wave in computing infrastructure.

"We are at an interesting moment in time where people will re-platform for security," said Gilliland.

Indeed, Rayno Report research findings confirm this trend. CXOs have a new mandate to build wide-ranging, cloud-based information technology (IT) security management strategies that are likely to fuel increased spending for the next five years.

Gilliland most recently served as senior vice president and general manager of enterprise security at Hewlett-Packard. He is also a former officer at Symantec, including senior vice president and general manager of the Information Security Group. He was vice president of products and marketing and director of business development at IMlogic, which was acquired by Symantec in 2006. Gilliland holds a BA in economics from Carleton College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Stefan Dyckerhoff, managing director at Sutter Hill Ventures, was serving as the interim CEO from the company’s inception until Gilliland’s appointment.

"We are extremely pleased that he decided to join us, and we look forward to solving our customers’ most challenging infrastructure security problems," Dyckerhoff said in company statement.

Skyport’s SkySecure product is a secured server appliance that can be managed in the cloud. It combines a hardened server platform with integrated security capabilities, including securely booting the OS and implementing security at the application level.

Gilliland says that Skyport intends to sell SkySecure into any market that wants secure server infrastructure. Early adopters have included tech manufacturing, law firms, government, and businesses with large numbers of branch offices, including retail and banking.