A quick online search leads me to Data8 [1], which I admit I've never heard of. Do you think that could be the format you're thinking of?
I know that SCSI drives were made for DDS [2], which (at least, initially) used the same tapes as the DAT audio format. But those used 4mm tapes, so probably aren't what you have.
Alternatively, it could have been a custom built system that recorded data onto video 8mm tapes. That will probably be a bit harder to get the data off unless you know the details of the setup used.