Down on Silicon Bayou, local Baton Rouge companies are carving out an amazing space in the tech sector. They’re designing impressive software platforms and tools that are attracting worldwide attention.

Steve McKinney  is the Chief Operating Officer of Cell Control, a Baton Rouge company that, in 2009, came up with technology to help eliminate distracted driving. In the years since, Cell Control has become the global leader in this field by selling its services to companies—big Fortune 500 companies—that have huge fleets of potentially distracted drivers. One reason the technology is so popular is because it is simple. It pairs a Bluetooth device with your cell phone to disable texting and Web surfing from the driver’s seat while still allowing a passenger’s phone to have full function. With over 100,000 users, Cell Control is saving big companies with fleets of drivers a lot of money, time, and frankly, lives. 

Calvin Fabre, CEO of Envoc, a Baton Rouge based digital agency that does custom software development, mobile applications, advertising and branding campaigns, web design, web applications, intranets, and portals. Calvin founded the company in the early 2000s. In the years since, Envoc has grown to more than 30 employees, a second location in Hammond and a reputation as one of the go-to software development firms in the Capital region. One of Envoc’s most innovative new products is is LA Wallet —a digital drivers license that you have on your phone and that serves as a legally accepted form of ID. As an added feature LA Wallet has a Verify function so you can check the background of an Uber driver  or, even the status of contractors who come to your home to do repairs. 

Photos at Mansurs on the Boulevard by Karry Hosford.