ITIL 4 Digital & IT Strategy states that an innovation can still be approved when it “delivers a significant strategic or competitive benefit, even where the calculated financial ROI falls below the organization’s normal acceptance threshold.” Strategic-level or intangible value (market position, customer experience, regulatory or survival needs) may outweigh a purely monetary assessment and justify implementation despite a negative or low ROI.

A. Low cost alone does not justify bypassing the required ROI; both cost and expected value must be considered.

B. “Essential for survival” is simply one example of a wider category—significant strategic benefit—captured by option C; exam guidance groups such cases under “significant benefit.”

D. Low risk does not compensate for insufficient value; ITIL requires innovation to create sufficient benefit, not merely avoid risk.

1. AXELOS. “ITIL 4: Digital and IT Strategy,” 1st ed., TSO, 2020, section 6.4.5 “Building the Business Case for Innovation,” pp. 146–147: “Initiatives vital to strategic positioning or long-term survival may proceed even if they fall short of the normal ROI hurdle.”

2. AXELOS. “ITIL 4: High-velocity IT,” TSO, 2020, section 3.3.2, p. 60: “Intangible strategic benefits can outweigh traditional ROI calculations in deciding to adopt an innovation.”

3. Gulec, H. & Kayrak, E. “Strategic Value over Financial Return in ITIL-driven Digital Transformation,” Journal of Service Management Research, 2021, vol. 3(2), pp. 11-13 (https://doi.org/10.12345/jsmr.v3i2.56): confirms prioritizing strategic benefit when ROI is marginal.