diff --git a/azure/templates/marketplace-management/createUiDefinition.json b/azure/templates/marketplace-management/createUiDefinition.json
index 2e21988d..0a3f1e55 100644
--- a/azure/templates/marketplace-management/createUiDefinition.json
+++ b/azure/templates/marketplace-management/createUiDefinition.json
@@ -546,6 +546,25 @@
               ]
             }
           },
+          {
+            "name": "identityAccessManagement" ,
+            "type": "Microsoft.Common.OptionsGroup",
+            "label": "Create a System Assigned Identity",
+            "toolTip": "Automatically create a Service Principal for this deployment.",
+            "defaultValue": "Yes",
+            "constraints": {
+              "allowedValues": [
+                {
+                  "label": "Yes",
+                  "value": true
+                },
+                {
+                  "label": "No",
+                  "value": false
+                }
+              ]
+            }
+          },          
           {
             "name": "InfoVMDiskSpace",
             "type": "Microsoft.Common.InfoBox",
@@ -770,6 +789,7 @@
       "installationType": "[steps('chkp-advanced').installationType]",
       "bootstrapScript": "[steps('chkp-advanced').bootstrapScript]",
       "allowDownloadFromUploadToCheckPoint": "[coalesce(steps('chkp-advanced').allowUploadDownload, 'true')]",
+      "msi" : "[steps('chkp-advanced').identityAccessManagement]",      
       "additionalDiskSizeGB": "[int(steps('chkp-advanced').additionalDiskSizeGB)]",
       "diskType": "[if(contains('R81.10' , steps('chkp-advanced').cloudGuardVersion) , steps('chkp-advanced').VMDiskTypeOldVersions , steps('chkp-advanced').VMDiskType)]",
       "sourceImageVhdUri": "[coalesce(steps('chkp-advanced').sourceImageVhdUri, 'noCustomUri')]",
diff --git a/azure/templates/marketplace-management/mainTemplate.json b/azure/templates/marketplace-management/mainTemplate.json
index bddd034b..6a400ce3 100644
--- a/azure/templates/marketplace-management/mainTemplate.json
+++ b/azure/templates/marketplace-management/mainTemplate.json
@@ -212,7 +212,7 @@
     },
     "msi": {
       "type": "bool",
-      "defaultValue": false,
+      "defaultValue": true,
       "metadata": {
         "description": "Configure managed service identity for the VM"
       }
diff --git a/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/createUiDefinition.json b/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/createUiDefinition.json
index 5eab4aff..aab140b1 100644
--- a/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/createUiDefinition.json
+++ b/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/createUiDefinition.json
@@ -416,18 +416,18 @@
             "visible": "[not(equals(steps('chkp-advanced').installationType, 'mds-logserver'))]",
             "name": "identityAccessManagement" ,
             "type": "Microsoft.Common.OptionsGroup",
-            "label": "Configure managed service identity for the VM",
-            "defaultValue": "No",
-            "toolTip": "IAM authentication can be configured to allow access to other resources who have a managed identity.",
+            "label": "Create a System Assigned Identity",
+            "toolTip": "Automatically create a Service Principal for this deployment.",
+            "defaultValue": "Yes",
             "constraints": {
               "allowedValues": [
                 {
                   "label": "Yes",
-                  "value": "true"
+                  "value": true
                 },
                 {
                   "label": "No",
-                  "value": "false"
+                  "value": false
                 }
               ]
             }
@@ -697,6 +697,7 @@
       "installationType": "[steps('chkp-advanced').installationType]",
       "bootstrapScript": "[steps('chkp-advanced').bootstrapScript]",
       "allowDownloadFromUploadToCheckPoint": "[coalesce(steps('chkp-advanced').allowUploadDownload, 'true')]",
+      "msi" : "[steps('chkp-advanced').identityAccessManagement]",
       "additionalDiskSizeGB": "[int(steps('chkp-advanced').additionalDiskSizeGB)]",
       "diskType": "[if(contains('R81.10' , steps('chkp').cloudGuardVersion) , steps('chkp-advanced').VMDiskTypeOldVersions , steps('chkp-advanced').VMDiskType)]",
       "sourceImageVhdUri": "[coalesce(steps('chkp-advanced').sourceImageVhdUri, 'noCustomUri')]",
diff --git a/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/mainTemplate.json b/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/mainTemplate.json
index 7f3e328b..2a865d46 100644
--- a/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/mainTemplate.json
+++ b/azure/templates/marketplace-mds/mainTemplate.json
@@ -204,7 +204,7 @@
     },
     "msi": {
       "type": "bool",
-      "defaultValue": false,
+      "defaultValue": true,
       "metadata": {
         "description": "Configure managed service identity for the VM"
       }