Welcome to our Meet the [Con]nected 2026 Speakers series. Each post introduces one of our guest speakers, the company behind them, and what they'll bring to the event.
In this post, you’ll learn about STF Consulting, an OpenVPN partner and managed IT and cybersecurity provider that helps businesses without large IT teams stay secure. Sean T. Furman, Founder and Principal of STF Consulting, joins the "Front Lines of Security" panel at OpenVPN [Con]nected 2026, our free virtual event on October 22, 2026.
Register for free to hear Sean live.
Meet Sean Furman
Sean Furman is the founder and principal of STF Consulting, a New Jersey based IT consulting firm focused on building secure, stable technology environments for businesses that rely on operational continuity.
With more than 25 years of experience in information technology, Sean has built his career helping organizations bring order to complex and often chaotic IT environments. His work centers on reducing operational risk, improving system stability, and designing IT infrastructures that support long-term business growth.
Sean founded STF Consulting with a clear philosophy: IT should not slow a business down. Instead, technology should operate reliably in the background, allowing leadership teams to focus on running and growing their companies. Under his leadership, STF Consulting specializes in transforming unstable or poorly managed systems into secure, structured environments designed for uptime, security, and operational resilience.
Sean works closely with business owners, CFOs, and COOs to align technology with business strategy. His approach combines deep technical expertise with a strong emphasis on process, risk management, and long term partnerships. Many of STF Consulting’s client relationships span more than a decade, reflecting the firm’s commitment to stability, accountability, and trusted advisory support.
Based in Monmouth County, New Jersey, Sean and the STF Consulting team support organizations across manufacturing, engineering, construction, professional services, and other operationally complex industries where reliable IT systems are critical to daily operations.
Who is STF Consulting?
STF Consulting is a managed service provider (MSP) based in Fair Haven, New Jersey. For more than 25 years, STF has delivered managed IT, co-managed IT, cybersecurity, cloud services, backup and disaster recovery, and IT consulting to growing businesses across New Jersey. Their clients span construction, financial services, manufacturing, professional services, real estate, transportation and logistics, and insurance.
STF keeps their client base intentionally focused so it can offer personalized, high-touch support. Impressively, STF clients stay with them for more than 15 years on average, and its average response time is three minutes.
How STF helps businesses with limited IT resources
Many small and midsize businesses don't have a security specialist on staff, and that's OK. Secure remote access, patching, monitoring, and incident response are a lot to manage on top of running a business. That’s where STF comes in. An MSP like STF takes on that work, so your team can focus on its own.
- Fully managed or co-managed IT. STF can run your IT environment end to end, or support the IT person you already have.
- 24/7 monitoring and proactive protection. STF watches your systems around the clock and addresses issues before they become outages.
- Layered cybersecurity. STF combines tools and practices to reduce risk and protect sensitive data.
- A long-term IT roadmap. STF plans upgrades and replacements ahead of time, so changes don't catch you off guard.
- Plain-language support. When something changes, STF prepares documentation and guidance your users can follow.
STF Consulting and OpenVPN
As an OpenVPN partner, STF deploys and manages OpenVPN solutions for its clients. In 2025, STF had less than two months to move clients off a remote access appliance that was reaching end of life early. STF chose OpenVPN Access Server and migrated more than 200 users within that window, with virtually no disruption for end users. Along the way, STF strengthened authentication and access controls and created client-specific documentation to help every user make the switch.
"We ended up with a more flexible, more secure remote access platform," Sean said.
Read the full story: 60 Days to a More Secure Future: How STF Consulting Migrated 200+ Users with OpenVPN.
What Sean will cover at [Con]nected 2026
At 1:30 p.m. ET, Sean joins our panel titled "Front Lines of Security: A Candid Conversation on Real-World Threats." OpenVPN's Jason Ng and Nick Finnegan will moderate the panel, which also features Luis Tarango of TGC; Brian Litzinger, OpenVPN's Head of Security, Compliance & Risk; and Andrew Proctor, OpenVPN's VP of IT Operations.
The panel brings together MSP partners and OpenVPN's security team to discuss the threats they see today and how AI and Zero Trust Network Access are changing security and infrastructure decisions. Sean brings the MSP perspective: what actually happens when growing businesses need to modernize remote access quickly, with limited time and staff.
This session is perfect for anyone looking to get past marketing jargon and talk about what really matters. It will also provide a way for MSPs to hear what their peers are working through.
If you're an MSP, also check out our guide to ZTNA best practices for MSPs.
About OpenVPN [Con]nected 2026
OpenVPN [Con]nected 2026 is a free, half-day virtual event on Thursday, October 22, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. As OpenVPN celebrates its 25th anniversary, the event dives into AI and Zero Trust, with product roadmap sessions for Access Server and CloudConnexa, guest speakers, live Q&A, and on-demand product support. See the full agenda.
Frequently asked questions
When does Sean T. Furman speak at OpenVPN [Con]nected 2026?
Sean joins the "Front Lines of Security" panel at 1:30 p.m. ET on October 22, 2026.
Is STF Consulting an OpenVPN partner?
Yes. STF Consulting is an OpenVPN partner that deploys and manages OpenVPN solutions for its clients.
Can a business without an IT team use OpenVPN?
Yes. A managed service provider like STF Consulting can deploy, manage, and support OpenVPN for you. Learn more about working with OpenVPN partners on our partner page.
Is [Con]nected 2026 free?
Yes. It's free and fully virtual, and replays will be emailed to all registrants.
Save your spot
Hear Sean and the rest of the panel live, and bring your questions. Register for OpenVPN [Con]nected 2026 today. It's free.
