Check out this thread it has a lot of good info:
In short, you have 2 types of rendering options:
-Standalone visualization packages like Keyshot, VRED, Bunkspeed - tools designed for rendering, sometimes simple animations and nothing else.
-Dedicated animation tools like Maya, 3D studio, Cinema4D, Modo. These can be paired with custom rendering engines like VRay, Maxwell, and other rendering engines which is what you will see most professional visualization studios using (though some get away just fine with Keyshot).
All studios have different expectations. Most internal corporate studios are OK with the Keyshot type approach. They let you get 90% of the way in a short period of time, and then will go out to professional firms if they need crazy awesome animations like exploding cutaway shots with circuit boards flying around and particle effects.