There is a growing desire, among transportation organizations and state DOTs, to consider augmenting traditional traffic data collection with probe - based services for expanded coverage under constrained budgets. The nature of traffic data collection with probes is however dramatically different from traditional traffic data collection techniques. This affects how the new technology is applied and used to solve current traffic problems such as traffic incident management and roadway performance assessment. The current paper summarizes the experiences and lessons learned while using probe data for traffic operations and safety management and makes recommendations on opportunities to maximize the use of probe data in light of its limitations.