If you want to get going really fast, as I realize it's not always easy to bring another instance up and running: Create the account again, open up your backup and see this post to start getting some mail back:
/forums/installation/12617-recover-data-mbox-folders.html#post64962
Backups are one of those things everyone finds boring, doesn't want to pay for storage of, goan when they don't have an up-to-date one, etc, etc.
But hot backups on NE are quite nice, and restoring to any point in time using the redologs is just so damn useful - and often that alone justifies the cost of NE when you have worried users breathing down your neck!