Re: Mitigation against ransomware:
"IT is one of the most despised departments in any business that isn't IT at its core."
Do you think there might be a reason for that, when it happens?
Do you think that Information **Services** (as was common in the past) might actually have been a better name, and a better reflection of the role the team should be playing within the organisation?
Rather than focusing on the size of the "estate" and the corresponding budget, focus on the service and the value delivered to the organisation outside. If you can't see it, they certainly can't see it.