Most compliance failures are classification failures in disguise.
Access control, DLP, encryption, and audit logs only work if the system knows the sensitivity of the data it’s looking at.
When a regulated file leaves as a normal attachment, you lose the audit trail, the jurisdiction, and the ability to prove control. Regulators increasingly treat incomplete classification as systemic non-compliance, not a documentation gap.
Labeling is the quiet prerequisite. Get it wrong and the expensive controls become theater.