Accelerating middleware innovation with Gemini Code Assist
Overview
An enterprise-level middleware team with a vast catalog of services faced mounting pressure to reduce development lifecycle times while maintaining high standards of code quality and operational efficiency. HCLTech partnered with the client to evaluate and implement Gemini Code Assist, an AI-powered development tool natively integrated with Google Cloud Platform (GCP). The solution enabled faster delivery, improved scalability and laid the foundation for broader AI adoption across IT functions.
The challenge
Scaling with speed and precision
The team managed a vast catalog of services that required continuous maintenance and upgrades, yet scaling was constrained by the need for niche skillsets, making the process both time-consuming and costly.
High turnaround times for onboarding new talent led to project delays, cost overruns and team fatigue due to consistently high utilization. This left little room for ad-hoc or high-priority projects, directly impacting business agility and responsiveness.
The objective
Enabling developers through AI
To address these challenges, the client partnered with HCLTech to evaluate and implement an AI-powered code assistance tool. The goal was to enhance developer productivity, streamline repetitive tasks and improve software quality without increasing headcount.
Gemini Code Assist emerged as the preferred choice due to its native GCP compatibility and robust IDE integration.
The solution
AI-assisted development lifecycle
HCLTech initiated a pilot program with a subset of developers to validate the utility of Gemini Code Assist. Based on positive feedback, the tool was scaled across the team, transforming workflows into AI-assisted development cycles.
- IDE integration: Seamless support for VS Code and JetBrains IDEs, enabling inline suggestions, symbol resolution and project context awareness
- Contextual assistance: Intelligent code completions, refactoring and test recommendations using live context from the local codebase
- Code customization: Adapts to team-specific coding styles by leveraging workspace context and local code patterns
- Security and compliance: Contextual security checks aligned with GCP policies, IAM configurations and organizational best practices
- Automated code reviews: Flags performance issues, insecure patterns and poor practices directly in the IDE
- DevOps support: Generates Docker files, infrastructure as code templates (such as Terraform and Kubernetes) and CI/CD scripts
- Task automation: Scripts for repetitive tasks and error resolution using Gemini Code Assist Chat
- Code transformation: Dynamic logic restructuring and modernization based on enterprise-specific coding standards
- External tool integration: Connects with Git, Jira and Atlassian tools for multitasking and contextual code suggestions
The impact
Leaner teams, faster delivery
The deployment of Gemini Code Assist delivered measurable results:
- 25% faster development when creating services from scratch
- 60% improvement in productivity for achieving comprehensive unit test coverage
- 80% time savings in scripting manual tasks
These efficiencies enabled the team to deliver projects more rapidly without increasing headcount, freeing bandwidth for critical and ad-hoc initiatives. The AI-assisted development lifecycle fostered a leaner, more focused team.
A foundation for AI-led transformation
The sustained impact of this solution is its role as a foundation for broader AI adoption across IT functions. By integrating AI into development, support and maintenance workflows, the client is positioned to accelerate modernization, enhance scalability and maintain competitive advantage.
This shift from traditional development to AI-assisted workflows is a pivotal step towards the next wave of digital transformation, one that prioritizes agility, quality and innovation.
