Take a tour of Microsoft Fargo
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Microsoft Fargo
By Sonja Thompson
Microsoft Fargo
By Sonja Thompson
Microsoft’s Fargo campus was opened and occupied in 1999. This was originally the site of Great Plains Software, which existed since the early ’80s. To date, Microsoft Fargo is the second largest field campus — Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus is the largest field campus.
Horizon building
Horizon building
This is the main entrance to the Microsoft Fargo campus. Microsoft’s Horizon building will receive a 65,000 square foot amenities addition, including a new cafe, meeting rooms, an Executive Briefing Center, and a company store.
Bison art
Bison art
This bison art piece, created by a local artist, is located right outside the main entrance to Microsoft Fargo. The bison is North Dakota’s state animal.
Front desk, Horizon
Front desk, Horizon
The front desk and reception area of Horizon is where customers, vendors, and visitors sign in.
Entryway, Horizon
Entryway, Horizon
Here’s a look at the entryway of Horizon.
Horizon front hall
Horizon front hall
This is a look down the front hallway of Horizon.
Horizon art
Horizon art
Several pieces of art, created by various artists, decorate the walls of Microsoft Fargo campus.
Horizon cafe
Horizon cafe
This is a coffee cart within Horizon, where Microsoft employees can get a quick snack or drink.
Horizon cafe seating area
Horizon cafe seating area
This is the seating area to the left of the Horizon cafe.
Horizon conference room
Horizon conference room
There are a lot of little coves and conference rooms at Microsoft Fargo to better facilitate office relations.
Conference room names
Conference room names
The conference rooms at Microsoft Fargo are scattered around the edges of the building. Some of the names of the conference rooms are of Great Plains people who received awards, which adds a taste of North Dakota into the office.
Soft and natural light
Soft and natural light
Soft and natural light filters through the Horizon building. The office is designed so that inside offices are against walls, providing the maximum number of people with the maximum amount of light.
Horizon cubes
Horizon cubes
Peering down a cubicle hallway in Horizon.
Horizon stairs
Horizon stairs
The tiles on the stairwell in Horizon, imported from India, were chosen for the broad range of natural colors they offer. The colors, textures, and materials, used in decorating Horizon have a definite agricultural motiff and are reminiscent of the great plains.
Vista building and room to build
Vista building and room to build
Burgum field, next to the Vista building at Microsoft Fargo, is a multi-purpose green space that makes up the “backyard” of the campus. It is used for events like the annual campus picnic, as well as for team member dodgeball and flag football games.
New building location
New building location
The monument at Burgum field is a replica of the border markers used to delineate the North Dakota/South Dakota border. The name Burgum field was chosen to honor Doug Burgum and his family for all the time, money, and energy that they put into Great Plains and Microsoft Fargo.
The Eagle's Nest
The Eagle's Nest
The Eagle’s Nest in the Horizon building offers a taste of North Dakota and a view of the surroundings.
The Eagle's Nest
The Eagle's Nest
The lights in the Eagle’s Nest are also in the Microsoft campus at Copenhagen, Denmark.
The Eagle's Nest and FireSide room
The Eagle's Nest and FireSide room
Here’s a view of the Eagle’s Nest from the outside of Horizon. Directly below the Eagle’s Nest is the Fireside room, which is a conference room and meeting area that contains books about the company and Great Plains.
Great Plains memorabilia wall
Great Plains memorabilia wall
Horizon also displays a Great Plains memorabilia wall.
Walkway between Horizon and Vista buildings
Walkway between Horizon and Vista buildings
An open-air walkway is the only connection between the Horizon and Vista buildings on Microsoft Fargo campus. Part of the expansion plans includes a connecting walkway with a roof.
Outside seating
Outside seating
Outside the Vista building is a seating area, where people sit especially in the spring.
Vista building
Vista building
Here’s a view of the inside of the Vista building. Vista is the newer (and more secure — a little Microsoft humor) building on the Microsoft Fargo campus.
Dev location
Dev location
The Vista building is where dev is housed. Employee cubicles are easily located by street signs, as you can see in this picture.
Moveable cube walls
Moveable cube walls
When Vista was built, they added a lot of things per employee input, such as moveable cube walls.
Vista cafeteria
Vista cafeteria
Take a look inside the Vista cafeteria. Microsoft subsidizes the cafeterias on campus to provide team members with economical food options.
Vista cafeteria
Vista cafeteria
Food options at the Vista cafeteria.
Vista Building entrance
Vista Building entrance
The entrance to the Vista building displays a variety of industry and local awards won by teams on the Microsoft Fargo campus as well as awards and recognition given to the campus as a whole.
Executive Briefing Center
Executive Briefing Center
The Vista building has an Executive Briefing Center, where partners and customers come in and learn how to use the software better, ask questions, and problem-solve.
Shared Services
Shared Services
Shared Services was off-limits during the Microsoft Fargo campus tour, but here’s a picture of the secured entrance.
Free beverages
Free beverages
Beverages at this location in the Vista building are all free, including orange juice, milk, V8, Starbucks coffee, and soft drinks. The most requested beverage on campus, believe it or not, is milk.
Free Starbucks coffee
Free Starbucks coffee
There are 16 Starbucks machines at Microsoft Fargo campus, at $10K apiece. Coffee, a necessary fuel for most IT professionals, is free to all Microsoft employees.
More outside seating
More outside seating
Another seating area outside Vista.
Inside seating
Inside seating
Here’s a seating area on the second floor of Vista.
Small conference room
Small conference room
More conference or huddle rooms in Vista.
Performance Test Lab: Vista
Performance Test Lab: Vista
The Performance Test Lab in Vista holds approximately 700 machines.
Test Lab in Vista
Test Lab in Vista
If one person sat down and manually executed all of the tests Microsoft Fargo runs in one night, it would take that person five or more years to complete the task. These labs are accessed by Microsoft development personnel in Copenhagen, India, and Redmond, as well as Fargo personnel. The resident customer service and support teams also utilize the labs.
Test Lab in Vista
Test Lab in Vista
Tons of cable run through the Performance Test Lab in Vista.
Test Lab in Horizon
Test Lab in Horizon
There are approximately 400 machines in the Test Lab in Horizon.
Test Lab in Horizon
Test Lab in Horizon
Another look inside the Test Lab in Horizon.
Meeting room monitor
Meeting room monitor
Meeting room monitors allows employees to see who has scheduled meetings for that room throughout the day and if the room is currently occupied.
Meeting room monitor
Meeting room monitor
Here’s a closer look at the meeting room monitors in Vista.
Horizon Hall
Horizon Hall
Horizon Hall is the main cafeteria and the largest meeting room on campus. This is where the expansion of Horizon will take place.
Horizon Hall seating
Horizon Hall seating
Horizon Hall offers both inside and outside seating.
Horizon Hall kitchen
Horizon Hall kitchen
Microsoft Fargo employees are getting ready for lunch at Horizon Hall.
Horizon Hall outside seating
Horizon Hall outside seating
Here’s a view of the outdoor seating for Horizon Hall. In the distance, the tall grass marks the spot where the new buildings will be located.
Maggie Orseth
Maggie Orseth
A special thanks to Maggie Orseth, a Student Experience Program Intern of the Microsoft Fargo Site Council, who provided the guided tour. Maggie was a high school intern last year. She graduated from Fargo South in 2006.
