From a practical viewpoint, the question is simply whether the money multiplied by the chance of success is a better option than the money needed to rebuild.

But I'd rather compare this to a natural disaster you were ill-prepared for. A lightning strike or tornado can also wipe all your data. You can't negotiate ransom with nature. And giving in to ransomware makes it worse for everybody else since it makes ransomware financially viable. IMHO it needs to become socially unacceptable to be ill-prepared for a ransomware attack. I don't care if it was a 0day or whether your security was sloppy. It was your job to be prepared for this.

At CCC events you commonly find a sticker at the exchange tables that reads "Kein Backup, kein Mitleid" - "no backup, no compassion".

But the post makes a good point - you don't need backups. You need restore. Which takes time and is frequently ill planned. Sadly.