How EPAM Partnered with Nelnet to Showcase the Power of an Agentic AI Approach, Enhancing Delivery Efficiency, Speed and Quality
Proving the Value of AI Tools for PDLC Transformation
RESULTS
31%
cumulative increase in productivity and efficiency
64%
of final code remained unchanged from the initial AI generation
924
AI agentic invocations done during experimentation
Faster
time to market
1.9X
backend acceleration in development
1.6X
frontend acceleration in development
At a glance
CLIENT
Nelnet
SERVICES
- Artificial Intelligence
- Data & Analytics
INDUSTRIES
- Education
- Financial Services
Nelnet, a multi-faceted service company, partnered with EPAM to explore the potential of GenAI tools to boost PDLC efficiency. Together, we created a pilot program, integrating AI into Nelnet's tech environment and providing full coaching and support. The partnership enabled the Nelnet team to effectively leverage the new tools and processes, resulting in a measured productivity increase of 31%.
PRODUCTIVITY LEAP
GenAI vs. Business as Usual
Nelnet, a global company specializing in consumer finance, student loan servicing, telecommunications and education, is continuously expanding through acquisitions. In a landscape buzzing with AI advancements, Nelnet wanted to understand the practical impact of generative AI (GenAI) on its business — specifically, on the quality and efficiency of the product development lifecycle (PDLC).
Because of its strong partnership with EPAM since 2020, the company sought EPAM's AI expertise to not only recommend the right tools but also to prove their value through a hands-on, measurable approach. The goal was to enable faster delivery, improved quality and reduced costs by providing AI tooling, training and curated support.
To do that, EPAM developed a 12-week pilot with a measuring framework based on EPAM’s AI/Run™.Transform. The project started in March 2025 and involved contrasting the use of a suite of tools in a coding environment versus the same process without the tools. That is, an EPAM team equipped with GenAI tools worked alongside one of Nelnet's traditional "business as usual" (BAU) development teams on a similar code base.
We also helped the client define ways of working with the tools, built agents, set up measurements to quantify improvements and provided peer-to-peer coaching on the tools — as well as workshops, use cases and learning materials.
The results exceeded expectations. The three-month engagement achieved upwards of 31% efficiency gains, proving that an AI-agentic approach can significantly increase productivity, even in complex enterprise-level projects, and solidifying the business case for broader AI adoption.
After the pilot finished, our team led a two-month peer coaching and training across Nelnet teams, sharing GenAI techniques and approaches to use in their own project teams and day-to-day work. Additionally, we helped accelerate delivery of a priority initiative by using GenAI tools and techniques.
We continue working with Nelnet to expand the PDLC pilot across the organization to drive additional efficiency.
Project Highlights
Tool Evaluation & Recommendation
Custom Metrics Framework
Pilot Execution & Best Practice Development
TECH STACK
PARTNER WITH US
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