IT operating expenditure (OpEx)
Run-rate technology spend charged to the P&L — subscriptions, cloud consumption, support, and managed services.
Updated 2026-05-023 min read
Definition
IT operating expenditure (OpEx) is technology spending treated as ongoing operating cost — recurring subscriptions, consumption-based cloud and AI fees, maintenance, and outsourced services — rather than capitalized upfront investment.
Why it matters
OpEx now dominates IT budgets as SaaS and cloud replace large capital purchases. It compounds monthly without a single procurement gate — which makes governance and renewal discipline critical.
Related Terms
IT capital expenditure (CapEx)
Up-front technology investments capitalized over time — datacenter builds, major license purchases, and transformation programs.
IT financial management (ITFM)
The discipline of planning, budgeting, allocating, forecasting, governing, and optimizing technology spending across an organization.
TCO (Total Cost of Ownership)
The full lifetime cost of a system — licenses, compute, storage, networking, people, migration, and exit — not just the cloud bill.