The only good thing to come out of this is that everyone involved (sysadmins and management) now is (or should be) a devout believer in making routine backups.

The only good thing to come out of this is that everyone involved (sysadmins and management) now is (or should be) a devout believer in making routine backups. It's a hard way to learn a lesson, but they're not the first nor will they be the last to learn the hard way.