What departments and visitor procedures are associated with One Microsoft Way, Redmond?
Executive summary
One Microsoft Way is the street address for Microsoft’s Redmond corporate campus and functions as the company’s headquarters, home to multiple business divisions and a public-facing Visitor Center and company store on campus Building 92 [1] [2] [3]. Public access is limited: Microsoft offers a visitor center and retail store that are open to the public, but many campus areas are restricted and visitors are advised to plan ahead; available public documentation and third‑party listings provide operating hours and location details but do not publish comprehensive on‑site security procedures [4] [5] [1].
1. The campus identity: headquarters and business divisions under One Microsoft Way
One Microsoft Way identifies the Redmond campus that functions as Microsoft’s corporate headquarters and houses multiple business units historically described in corporate listings—Office suites, Dynamics, server products and unified communications among others—according to business directory summaries tied to the Redmond address [2] [1]. Publicly available profiles and mapping services consistently point to the One Microsoft Way/Redmond address as the company HQ [6] [7], and campus guides and encyclopedic entries frame the site as a multi‑building complex rather than a single corporate office, indicating a mix of offices and operational spaces across buildings [1] [3].
2. Visitor Center and Company Store: the explicit public-facing components
Building 92 on the Redmond campus houses the Microsoft Visitor Center and an on‑campus company store, both described in multiple sources as the primary points of public access to the campus and its exhibits [1] [3]. Local listings and consumer review sites provide practical details—an address for Building 92, phone contact and weekday opening hours for the Visitor Center and store—showing concrete public availability and interactive exhibits for guests [4]. Microsoft’s own FAQ documents for the store and Visitor Center are referenced in public download repositories, indicating formal visitor guidance exists even if the accessible snippet does not reproduce full procedures [8].
3. Visitor procedures: public access, limits, and practical guidance
Third‑party visitor guidance warns that while the Visitor Center and company store are open to the public, other areas of the campus may be restricted for security or operational reasons and that planning a visit in advance is recommended to ensure access to public facilities and events [5] [4]. Mapping and navigation services underscore the campus’s large footprint and multiple entrances—practical considerations for visitors arranging transportation and arrival—but they do not substitute for official security or check‑in policy documentation [9] [10]. The presence of an official FAQ for the store and Visitor Center suggests Microsoft maintains formal visitor instructions, but the publicly indexed snippet does not detail ID, badge, or security screening requirements [8].
4. What the sources do not say — gaps that matter to visitors
None of the provided sources publish a complete, authoritative list of all departments physically located at One Microsoft Way, nor do they disclose detailed visitor security procedures such as mandatory ID, guest badge issuance, escort rules, parking passes, or procedures for scheduled versus unscheduled visitors; those operational specifics are absent from the cited mapping, review and summary pages [2] [6] [4] [3] [8]. Because the campus is a corporate headquarters spread across many buildings, visitors should not assume unrestricted access beyond Building 92; the available reporting highlights that restriction but does not supply the granular check‑in process that a security office or corporate visitor portal would provide [5] [1]. This absence leaves an important practical gap that only official Microsoft visitor resources or direct campus contacts can close [8].
5. Practical recommendations and competing narratives
Public-facing sources present two competing impressions: directory and encyclopedic entries emphasize the campus’s scale and corporate functions, implying many departments operate there [2] [1], while visitor‑oriented sites emphasize limited public access focused on Building 92 and planned visits [4] [5]. With mapping tools and review pages supplying addresses and hours, the prudent interpretation for prospective visitors is straightforward: One Microsoft Way hosts both core corporate operations and a public Visitor Center/company store, but campus security and restricted areas mean visitors should verify access rules through official Microsoft channels rather than relying solely on third‑party listings [4] [8].