---
title: "IBM's Microsoft Smackdown: This week in PR"
date: 2005-07-29T21:22:06Z
modified: 2005-07-29T21:22:06Z
permalink: "https://redmonk.com/jgovernor/ibms-microsoft-smackdown-this-week-in-pr/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: ""
wpid: 300
categories:
  - Uncategorized
timestamp: 2005-07-29T21:22:06Z
tags:
  - Uncategorized
---

Both IBM and Microsoft made major systems launch announcements this week.

It struck me forcefully this morning when writing my first entry for the [Mainframe blog](http://mainframe.typepad.com/blog/) that I hadn’t seen anyone _compare_ the success of the two efforts. Well, if that isn’t a job for RedMonk then i am a capuchin’s cousin.

It looks like IBM won the PR war hands down. As far as the tech press is concerned, a mainframe system called z9 evidently has all the momentum, while Vista is still looking for a raison d’etre. Who’d a thunk it?

The analysis is [here](http://mainframe.typepad.com/blog/2005/07/on_z9_mainframe.html). On the broader plains of the internet Vista [wins a google fight](http://www.googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=IBM+z9&word2=Microsoft+Vista), but from a top down, mainstream news-driven perspective IBM just pinned Microsoft to the mat.

I could have just posted the argument at monkchips, because I own the copyright to the work, but I wanted to send some traffic to this new group blog I am contributing to. Please go read it and tell me why I am right or wrong.