This story was written for WRAL TechWire Advisor partner Momentum Learning.

If you’re reading this from a smartphone, there’s a 40 percent chance that it’s an iPhone. Of the 223 million smartphone users in America, 90 million opt for an Apple version.

In this region of oaks, it’s looking like the Apple might not fall far from the tree.

In May, reports came out discussing Apple’s imminent announcement of a deal that would bring a $600 million campus to Research Triangle Park, along with 10,000 jobs. This comes after Amazon announced the Triangle region as one of its 20 finalist cities for its $5 billion HQ2 project in February.

Amazon’s second headquarters is estimated to create 50,000 jobs.

But don’t expect a response if you’re planning to ask Siri or Alexa what the future beholds. Both Apple and Amazon aren’t shelling out many details, but this doesn’t mean that the region isn’t preparing for or anticipating either company’s arrival.

“Apple is going to impact us in a really good way,” opined Jessica Mitsch, co-founder and CEO of Momentum Learning Inc., a coding school headquartered in Durham. “We have a lot of talented, smart people in the region already, that’s why we’re attracting companies. We need to make sure that the talent in the area has the opportunity for continued learning and development.”

Todd Olson, CEO and co-founder of product cloud company Pendo, agrees.

“The Triangle has several top universities and lots of educated, qualified talent,” Olson said. “The area is affordable and has enough infrastructure to accommodate growth.”

Olson doesn’t like monikers like the “Silicon Valley of the South,” though, and said that the Triangle needs to be the best version of itself, not a replica of another region.

If Apple, Amazon, or both arrive here, it’s sure to set the region apart. The question is, in what ways?

The short answer? In many.

Stakeholders are already discussing the possible impact of traffic, changes to city infrastructure, the rising cost of real estate, and more. But for tech companies, the arrival of a big name tech giant will also mean inspiration, or competition, depending on how you look at it.

“[These kinds of] companies are going to inevitably take folks out of the start-up communities, and smaller and mid-sized companies as they fill their campus, and those [smaller] companies are going to have to quickly look at their strategy,” Mitsch said.

But Mitsch doesn’t see competition as a bad thing, necessarily.

“I think bringing in a large company like Apple will ultimately be helpful. I think we are all going to experience some growing pains if they come in the sense that the area is getting more attention, and that’s going to impact salaries and make it harder for smaller companies to retain talent for longer,” she continued. “But I think that’s a growing pain we’re going to experience, regardless.”

Olson pointed out that Pendo averages 4,000 applicants a quarter for approximately 30 new positions.

“The area can certainly handle more companies,” he said.

Girish Hoogar, senior director of product development for ShareFile (data and content collaboration) at Citrix, said big companies like Amazon and Apple want to tap into the talent pool here.

“Bigwigs are coming to where the talent pool exists and not the other way around,” Hoogar said. “I also think that the quality of life in Raleigh leads many to stay here permanently. This makes the area very attractive to employers.”

As Will Barfield, president and CEO of Barfield Revenue Consulting, put it, “We could use more flow of tech talent.” Barfield helps recruit and staff talent for tech companies, and said that Momentum is helping to foster this kind of talent that is badly needed.

“Technical talent is always hard to find and there just aren’t enough graduates of four-year universities to meet our needs as a region,” Olson said. “Momentum helps people new to technology gain skills needed for important development jobs. We need non-traditional sources of talent like this to support our region’s current needs and future growth.”

Mitsch pointed out that a company like Apple is going to need talent, and quickly.

“We see ourselves as extensions of people’s education; the continued lifelong learning cycle that is required in the modern economy. We provide people [with] specific job training in technology skills,” she said. “When we talk to employers about talent, it’s not only about the technical skills, but does this person have the grit to stick through the problems we’re trying to solve.”

Barfield said the possibility of Apple or Amazon’s arrival gives the region a “flag in the ground of legitimacy.”

“We’ve been cute,” he said. “The tech market has been cute; it’s not Boston, it’s not Austin, it’s not The Bay. When you’ve got someone homegrown like Pendo who is making some noise, that’s exciting. And if one of these companies picks our market for a significant presence, it’s further legitimacy of who we are and that we deserve to be on the map.”

Hoogar took a step back from discussing talent to acknowledge that while both skills and compensation are important, company culture and innovation also drive employee satisfaction, and employers should be mindful of this as they’re looking to stay competitive.

Another upside both Mitsch and Hoogar pointed out, is the cutting edge work that large companies could give birth to as they inspire entrepreneurship in others.

Mitsch called Apple an “anchor company” that could create offshoot start-ups.

“While I am not looking forward to the increase in traffic, I anticipate we will have a lot of new entrepreneurs emerging from these companies that will continue to give back to the city of Raleigh, making this area a vibrant technology hub,” Hoogar added.

“We’re excited for the prospect of Apple,” Mitsch said. “We think it will have an overall positive impact on our community, and we’re prepared to help people get into the tech industry.”

This story was written for WRAL TechWire Advisor partner Momentum Learning.