Embodiments of the invention may be used to normalize data stored in an in-memory database on a parallel computer system. The data normalization may be used to achieve memory savings, thereby reducing the number of compute nodes required to store an in-memory database. Thus, as a result, faster response times may be achieved when querying the data. In one embodiment, normalization may be performed in a manner to avoid datasets that cross physical or logical boundaries of the compute nodes of a parallel system.