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Language translation is essential for international businesses, who need to communicate with suppliers, clients, customers, and colleagues all around the world. While machine translation is improving all the time, professional translation agencies are necessary for most translation activities.
A translation agency (Übersetzungsbüro) is able to read a source document in one language and produce a copy of this document in another language at the clients request. Most large translation agencies are able to produce documents in a number of different languages, while some smaller agencies specialise in one or two languages. In this day and age of globalised commerce, Internet transactions, and multi-national corporations, the act of language translation is more important than ever before.

Since the growth of international commerce in the mid 18th century, a number of translation standards have been formalised around the world. There are various schools and associations devoted to language translation, helping to define the professional standards and regulations of the industry. While automated language translation has been worked on ever since the 1940s, it is still not good enough to offer a comprehensive and professional solution in all situations. For businesses who want to expand their services around the world and offer customers a variety of solutions in their own native language, a translation agency is absolutely essential.

In order for a translation agency to be truly professional, it is necessary that they have a working knowledge of the culture and language idioms of the target language. Word for word translation is a myth, and all translation activities require an interpretation of language. Translation agencies are required to provide their clients with a working knowledge of a language and a country, with some agencies also specialising in particular industries and documents. International businesses often need a variety of source material to be translated into a second language, including product documentation, websites, marketing material, advertisements, and customer communication.