The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which consumer goods editor/analyst Austin Smith and technology and media editor/analyst Andrew Tonner discuss topics across the investing world.

As part of the Motley Fool Madness series, Andrew and Austin go head-to-head analyzing two Dow titans of industry. In today's showdown, enterprise technology behemoth IBM faces off with software kingpin Microsoft. IBM absolutely dominates its place in enterprise technology with its powerful model of hardware sales driving software sales, which in turn result in lucrative consulting contracts as well. Well-managed and established, it certainly gives investors a lot to like. After a decade of relative stagnation, Microsoft finally has its hand in growth areas in technology as well. However, looking ahead, which company has a greater catalyst for growth? Andrew and Austin present their arguments and our all-star team of analysts ultimately makes the call on the better Dow stock for the next 12 months.

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