No, when deploying the Virtual Appliance (VA) in Azure, the IdentityNow engineer does not necessarily need to use the Azure CLI to deploy the VA image. While using the Azure CLI is one option, SailPoint provides multiple ways to deploy the VA in Azure, including using the Azure portal or ARM (Azure Resource Manager) templates. The process does not mandate using the CLI specifically.

Key Reference from SailPoint Documentation:

Azure VA Deployment Methods: SailPoint supports multiple methods for deploying the VA in Azure, including through the Azure portal or ARM templates, without requiring the CLI.