diff --git a/ibm_catalog.json b/ibm_catalog.json
index 7c0ae97a..a9ebb210 100644
--- a/ibm_catalog.json
+++ b/ibm_catalog.json
@@ -133,7 +133,9 @@
               ]
             },
             {
-              "key": "prefix"
+              "key": "prefix",
+              "required": true,
+              "description": "Prefix to add to all resources created by this solution. To not use any prefix value, you can enter the string `__NULL__`."
             },
             {
               "key": "secrets_manager_instance_name"
diff --git a/solutions/standard/main.tf b/solutions/standard/main.tf
index f610bb3b..7b96c6e8 100644
--- a/solutions/standard/main.tf
+++ b/solutions/standard/main.tf
@@ -6,13 +6,14 @@ locals {
   validate_resource_group = (var.existing_secrets_manager_crn == null && var.resource_group_name == null) ? tobool("Resource group name can not be null if existing secrets manager CRN is not set.") : true
   # tflint-ignore: terraform_unused_declarations
   validate_event_notifications = (var.existing_event_notification_instance_crn == null && var.enable_event_notification) ? tobool("To enable event notifications, an existing event notifications CRN must be set.") : true
+  prefix                       = var.prefix != null ? (var.prefix != "" ? var.prefix : null) : null
 }
 
 module "resource_group" {
   count                        = var.existing_secrets_manager_crn == null ? 1 : 0
   source                       = "terraform-ibm-modules/resource-group/ibm"
   version                      = "1.1.6"
-  resource_group_name          = var.use_existing_resource_group == false ? (var.prefix != null ? "${var.prefix}-${var.resource_group_name}" : var.resource_group_name) : null
+  resource_group_name          = var.use_existing_resource_group == false ? try("${local.prefix}-${var.resource_group_name}", var.resource_group_name) : null
   existing_resource_group_name = var.use_existing_resource_group == true ? var.resource_group_name : null
 }
 
@@ -21,8 +22,8 @@ module "resource_group" {
 #######################################################################################################################
 locals {
   kms_key_crn       = var.existing_secrets_manager_crn == null ? (var.existing_secrets_manager_kms_key_crn != null ? var.existing_secrets_manager_kms_key_crn : module.kms[0].keys[format("%s.%s", local.kms_key_ring_name, local.kms_key_name)].crn) : var.existing_secrets_manager_kms_key_crn
-  kms_key_ring_name = var.prefix != null ? "${var.prefix}-${var.kms_key_ring_name}" : var.kms_key_ring_name
-  kms_key_name      = var.prefix != null ? "${var.prefix}-${var.kms_key_name}" : var.kms_key_name
+  kms_key_ring_name = try("${local.prefix}-${var.kms_key_ring_name}", var.kms_key_ring_name)
+  kms_key_name      = try("${local.prefix}-${var.kms_key_name}", var.kms_key_name)
 
   parsed_existing_kms_instance_crn = var.existing_kms_instance_crn != null ? split(":", var.existing_kms_instance_crn) : []
   kms_region                       = length(local.parsed_existing_kms_instance_crn) > 0 ? local.parsed_existing_kms_instance_crn[5] : null
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ module "secrets_manager" {
   existing_sm_instance_crn = var.existing_secrets_manager_crn
   resource_group_id        = var.existing_secrets_manager_crn == null ? module.resource_group[0].resource_group_id : data.ibm_resource_instance.existing_sm[0].resource_group_id
   region                   = var.region
-  secrets_manager_name     = var.prefix != null ? "${var.prefix}-${var.secrets_manager_instance_name}" : var.secrets_manager_instance_name
+  secrets_manager_name     = try("${local.prefix}-${var.secrets_manager_instance_name}", var.secrets_manager_instance_name)
   sm_service_plan          = var.service_plan
   allowed_network          = var.allowed_network
   sm_tags                  = var.secret_manager_tags
@@ -128,7 +129,7 @@ module "iam_secrets_engine" {
   source               = "terraform-ibm-modules/secrets-manager-iam-engine/ibm"
   version              = "1.2.6"
   region               = local.secrets_manager_region
-  iam_engine_name      = var.prefix != null ? "${var.prefix}-${var.iam_engine_name}" : var.iam_engine_name
+  iam_engine_name      = try("${local.prefix}-${var.iam_engine_name}", var.iam_engine_name)
   secrets_manager_guid = local.secrets_manager_guid
   endpoint_type        = local.sm_endpoint_type
 }
diff --git a/solutions/standard/variables.tf b/solutions/standard/variables.tf
index 4258fe00..a47d95e9 100644
--- a/solutions/standard/variables.tf
+++ b/solutions/standard/variables.tf
@@ -38,8 +38,8 @@ variable "region" {
 
 variable "prefix" {
   type        = string
-  description = "The prefix to apply to all resources created by this solution."
-  default     = null
+  description = "The prefix to add to all resources created by this solution. To not use any prefix value, you can set this value to `null` or an empty string."
+  default     = "dev"
 }
 
 ########################################################################################################################