Also, given that kernel patching should be done in a single-user mode, that means that you have to take down your applications to do your patching (unless you do a live upgrade, in which case you "only" have to reboot), which also will affect your applications.
Since the generic_XXXXX output in your uname -a reflects the current level of the kernel patch, it will, just like gleng pointed out, be changed after installing (and rebooting to) the newer kernel patch. This should not affect your applications, but there are no guarantees that it won't.
This is why live upgrade is so useful, if your application for some reason responds negatively after patching the system, you can easily revert to the previous patch level..
.7/M.
Installing kernel patches will change uname -a output.
Also, given that kernel patching should be done in a single-user mode, that means that you have to take down your applications to do your patching (unless you do a live upgrade, in which case you "only" have to reboot), which also will affect your applications.