"We are witnessing the decline of the general purpose operating system", he said in his security blog posted last night, adding that the once static data centre has transformed into a highly agile virtual data centre.
And, he says, it is now once again transforming thanks to cloud computing.
"First generation migrations to cloud, using Infrastructure-as-a-service, are facing tough competition from Platform-as-a-Service frameworks designed to take advantage of the rapid elasticity and scalability the cloud model provides", he said.
"A similar change is taking place with client devices. The once ubiquitous laptop is being supplanted by highly specialised and proprietary devices like smart phones, iPads and netbooks running Google's Chrome operating system", he added.
According to Foster, as these devices become more capable, the need for a general-purpose operating systems like Windows or Mac OSX fades away.
Foster calls this change cloudamorphosis, a process that is create new challenges – and opportunities.
"As security emerges from the cocoon of the past, a new generation of cloud-focused solutions will unify the diverse mixture of assets, restoring the control we once had and embracing the agility of the new model", he said.
"With all of this change, we have to remember that effective security management requires unified visibility and control across the spectrum of traditional assets, mobile devices and cloud computing resources", he added.
"The next generation of security solutions need to bridge this gap and let our data safely take flight."